Shame and Forgiveness
by DeafAngel2000
Summary: Just when the coronation goes awry, an unexpected truth is exposed, friendships seem irreparably broken and a nation is devided. And for Audrey, Ben, and certain AKs, it doesn't seem like a Silver Lining can fix this mess. AU where Audrey was right, the VKs were Evil, and everyone deals with the consequences of their actions.
1. The Truth and Consequences

**_(Will sporadically update this if liked enough!_**

**_This is an Audrey-centric story, but peers into the lives of the VKs and AKs affected. It takes place in regards to an AU where the VKs never became Good, Mal only never liked Ben, and grabbed the wand at the coronation but still didn't give the wand to Maleficent. Oh, and Audrey and Ben had been in a dating.)_****_This is an Audrey-centric story, but peers into the lives of the VKs and AKs affected. It takes place in regards to an AU where the VKs never became Good, Mal only never liked Ben, and grabbed the wand at the coronation but still didn't give the wand to Maleficent. Oh, and Audrey and Ben had been in a dating.)_**

* * *

"I told you so!"

In hindsight, it seemed like the right thing to say. But for Audrey, it now seemed pathetic.

What had happened: After taking the wand from Jane, a fail-safe, curtesy of Fairy Godmother, activated and surrounded Mal and the VKs as they had the wand. As Ben tried to get the wand from Mal, they all look up at them with evil smirks and Mal's eyes glowed bright neon green. She laughed in Ben's face and revealed the truth: They never turned to the Good side. They were playing every single person in the room who had ended up supporting them! Ben's face fell as Mal explained how she had tricked Ben and used him, and the fact the spell wore off and he told her he still "loved" her was music to her ears. By then time the fail-safe deactivated, and before they could put on their facades, it was too late. They were completely exposed to the entire kingdom of Auradon!

And then Maleficent came crashing in.

Angered but slightly impressed the VKs still managed to get the wand, she demanded it is handed over to her. But her daughter was pissed: her long thought out plans ruined and the very presence of the Mistress of Evil was the last straw! To punish her for all the things she and their parents put their kids through, Mal waved the wand and turned her into a lizard, her size as small as the amount of love in her heart!

After imprisoning Lizard-Maleficent away, Mal was prepared to wave the wand at the nobility of Auradon when the former King Adam and Fairy Godmother fought and procured the wand from the young dragon fairy. But the entire court had been in an uproar! The VKs were immediately arrested and put in a holding cell until further notice, the coronation (and after-party) had been canceled as well, and the paparazzi were having a Field Day with current events that just happened!

The Villains' Kids had been under orders to free Maleficent from the Isle! Yes, Jane did some of the work breaking the Isle's barrier, but Mal and the VKs still admitted to ill intention on Auradon!

Originally, Audrey would've wanted to bask in delight that she was right the entire time, but she didn't feel victorious. She felt disappointed and depressed. Why? Because she constantly and repeatedly warned everyone about the VKs but was pushed aside as the "bitter ex-girlfriend". All that time, She wanted to cry. She wanted to tell. She wanted to use that sharp tongue that her Grandma Leah said was "Not fit for a Princess of Auroria!"

But as the chaos ensured, watching guard usher away Ben and his family away while all the royal families were escorted out of the hall, Audrey just stood her head up like a true princess and held back her tears as she followed her family to the home they were staying in.

After everything had happened, after losing some of her friends and reputation as others favored and defended Mal and the VKs against her, losing Ben and being humiliated, she didn't know whether she could trust anyone at Auradon Prep ever again.

* * *

As Ben and his parents were ushered into a limo to escape the paparazzi (**_the biggest scandal to hit the Royal Family by the Future King's love betrayal with Maleficent's daughter! Oh, how the press would eat this up!_**) he was fighting the emotions of sadness, shame, regret, and humiliation of his own.

How could he have let this happened? He vouched for the Mal and her friends! He let them into his country, his home, his coronation. Hell, his heart!

He remembered watching Mal's eyes glow green with an evil smirk on her face. Ben had truly believed she had some good in her. Yes, he should have been cross when he realized she had put a love spell on him, but he wouldn't deny he felt something for her. Even when she had thought he'd drowned in the lake, she tried to rescue him. And even though she was unaware that he was curse-free, she still tried to hive him the antidote. Wasn't that Good? Or had she been faking it the whole time?

Ben didn't even wanna look up at his parents' faces. God, they must have been so disappointed in him. They trusted him, before and after he had won the election, stood with him when he made his decree - even if they were against it - and this is what he had to show for it!? He failed them, couldn't keep his personal feeling from duty, and nearly paid the price for believing and trusting the VKs so easily…And for hurting Audrey.

She **warned** him. Time and time again, she tried to tell him that something like this would happen. Yes, he had fallen out of love with her, but he thought she couldn't understand the responsibilities and changes he was going through. He even defended Mal against her, when all she had been trying to do was protect him. From them, and himself.

He wanted to laugh bitterly at that stupid display he did at the game. Audrey may have pulled an act to save face by getting with Chad, but he knew he hurt her deeply.

But like the rest of the people of Auradon, he didn't know how he would make it up to her for ho's screw up.

* * *

Similar feelings were amassing amongst the Auradon students after the failed coronation.

Fairy Godmother was livid with Jane, for her childish actions could have endangered the kingdom. All for she could grow her hair out longer! If she wanted to, she could have brought the topic up with her!

And speaking of which, she was livid Jane had allowed Mal to use magic on her and Lonnie in the first place! It was against the rules and in strict dress code violations! The Fairy Godmother grounded her daughter for an unspecified time and let all the heroes know what their children had been doing.

The imprisoned VKs were hit with a truth spell and spilled a lot of their plans and activities, especially about how they were tasked to steal the wand and the Love Potion Mal put on Ben. But the plan changed tp double-cross their parents and take the kingdom for themselves, unleashing the worst of the worst from the Isle to help construct chaos. Had they not been exposed, this is how they would have gone about it:

Mal, as Ben's girlfriend, would have been soon expected to be introduced as a new Lady of the Court. From there, she would have begun meeting with influential figures while collaborating with Jay to have weapons, food and more smuggled into the Isle.

Jay, though working with Mal, would gain access to certain faults and hidden mines in the kingdom, looting all the treasures and wealth from right out from under all of the nobilities' noses. Some of it would go to the Isle as well.

Evie, a brilliant witch after her mother, had plotted to slowly poison the student population with gas, which held similar components to the apple given to Snow White, and then cause a chemical explosion to destroy the whole school! She also plotted to have it blamed on Doug, as he would sometimes be the last to leave the Chemistry, where the explosion would start.

And Carlos plotted to slowly but surely poison a majority of the animals in the kingdom, from farm animals to the domesticated one, including the dogs, leaving only vegetation the sustainable food source available.

Ironically, they told Fairy Godmother about how certain students treated them, like Chad. And by "they", it was Evie's admission into giving more reason to blow up the school.

The fallout responded with a lot of disappointed parents (even Cinderella and Prince Charming), lots of grounding, and for Ben, the loss of support in the Auradonian people. Not to mention the feeding frenzy the media was having.

But for the Auradon students itself, it was a different story. Those who were friendly to the VKs from the start couldn't understand how they got played or why they didn't see through their acts. The girls upon getting Mal and Evie popular were regretting their actions, listening to them and their "hair rebellion", the boys regretting letting Jay and Carlos into their ranks and circles, but a certain group of AKs was dealing with shame of their own: Losing Audrey, a shell of herself, who had become detached from her school activities and wanted nothing to do with anybody at all.


	2. Uncertain Choices and Decisions

**So over a hundred people saw my first chapter. Let's see what's next. And btw, I'll be making references to the "Twisted Tales" series by Liz Braswell (Disney's What If books) and to the sequels of the movies (a "not saying it completely happened but came close to" scenarios) to fit the villains who were still alive and purpose for being on the I****s****le of the Lost..**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

_**In Auroria...**_

**_The Honeymoon Cottage..._**

**3rd POV**

_"__**THE MALEFICIENT(S) CRASH THE COURT!"**_

**_"KING BEN UNDER SCRUTINY!"_**

**_"IS KING BEN FIT FOR THE THRONE!?"_**

**_"LOVE SPELL MISHAP!? A PLAN TO TAKEOVER THE THROWN!"_**

**_"VILLIAN TEENS, RIGHT OFF THE ISLE!"_**

**_"ROYAL SCANDAL! IS BEN THE KING WE NEED!?"_**

THWACK!

Former Queen Leah, Queen Aurora, and King Philip looked up from their seats to see Audrey had thrown newspapers onto the table. One look at them said it all.

It had been a quiet morning in the 40-roomed castle and the cooks and fixed a delicious breakfast for the royal family for the family to enjoy. All but one, that is.

"Don't they have anything better to do than harass Ben!" she hissed. "It's bad enough that the coronation was ruined and postponed, but now they're making it seem like it's all his fault!"

Sighing, Queen Leah took a sip of her morning tea before explaining, "And they have that freedom to do so."

"What?" Audrey asked incredulously.

Her grandmother nodded. "When Ben was elected to be King, he knew what was expected of him by looking towards his father's rule. Now, changes can be expected, but when you have a spectacle as big as his coronation, it is no surprise it won't be taken lightly. In this case, some could believe this was all in his making."

"Huh? So they think he, what, planned on ruining his ascension to the throne to get more popular?" Audrey snorted.

Queen Leah sent her a fixed glare. "Watch your tone, young lady. It is not becoming of a princess. And to answer that question, no. Ben knew there was a risk by taking in those children of the Isle, and to let his guard down long enough for Maleficient's daughter was able to slip him a love spell is quite the scandal. Not to mention how the Fairy Godmother's daughter practically disgraced herself with that foolish display of hers."

"Yes," Audrey shrugged. She had heard that Jane had got the equivalent of a verbal thrashing and that her mother was going to keep her on a tight leash from now on.

"The fact of the matter is: Ben was, or still is, the representation of his people, and royalty alike. His actions reflect on his person, and those actions have made certain people believe that he isn't ready for the throne," Queen Leah stated.

"But he's a King!" Audrey exclaimed. "Or a Prince, at the very least! He grew up with royalty, he studied his butt off to know all there is to know about Auradon before it was even a founded country! His mother is the most down-to-Earth woman that has ever lived and he knows from his dad's past to not act like a spoiled brat. And he is so, so mature... He's ready for the mantle, Grandmother. This was just a...a hiccup."

Audrey inwardly winced at the sound her grandmother's hand hitting the redwood table.

"Just a hiccup!? Audria, please remove your personal feelings from the situation and regard it like a princess," Queen Leah admonished. "Just because he is a prince, doesn't mean that he has the maturity of one. If you may want an example, think of Queen Cinderella's son, that for his childish action in which would make any royal monarchy disown him, was simply sent away for the remainder of the year. From the way rumors have it, especially considering how with his mother's background of being a servant in her own home, it would do him some good to learn some humility before embarrassing his family's name in ignorance. Ben is young, yes, but a ruler should know when to make certain risks and when to ensure his people's safety. And while yes, his family background has given him a sense of modesty, being smart isn't always enough. A king must be prepared to give himself, **_all _**of himself, to his people. Especially as he gets older, he will realize that he has no time for fun and games."

"So what happens? Because he's not fully instated as of the coronation, the council can just what? Abdicate his right to the throne? Pick someone else?" Audrey asked.

"Well, I wouldn't use that exact wording, but most likely, yes," Queen Leah stated indifferently.

"But that's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair, Audria, and you would do well to remember that!" her grandmother snapped. Audrey jumped back at the steel in her voice.

"Mother!" Aurora exclaimed. King Philip was just about to join in when Queen Leah raised her hand, taking a breath.

"I apologies, Audrey," she started, "and I can see why you'd feel this way. But you must know that actions must have consequences. Just look at what Maleficient's daughter had planned. She had waved that wand at us, _at you_, and then read all about her plans for Auradon if she had succeeded in controlling Ben! I am under a good authority that for her plans to had become fruition, it would have been years. And if she was well-liked and silver-tongued enough, maybe sooner. It's bad enough what her mother had done, but now her child had been **this **close to Auradon's ruin...It's all out in the air now and if he wants to reclaim any doubt that he could still make a good king, how he handles it will determine so. And with that, comes with an eventual press conference if he wants to start."

Taking in a deep breath and reigning in her frustrations, she sat down beside her grandmother and placed her head down.

"I don't think that's even going to come _close _once school starts again," Audrey groaned inwardly.

Officially, because of the incident and in concern for the safety of the students and their, Auradon Prep had been closed for an unscheduled break and be re-open in two weeks. Audrey and everyone else, including Ben, would be returning the week after this one.

Unofficially, the scandal has put AP under lockdown for a high-profile investigation regarding the VKs whereabouts, classes and extracurricular activities. They were looking for anything that was a dead giveaway to their plans and had slipped under their noses.

And Fairy Godmother was leading the charge.

Queen Aurora and King Philip reached out and grabbed both of her hands softly, to comfort her as she let out what was practically screaming in her chest.

"I told them," she started, feeling her eyes moisten. "I told _**everyone** _that Mal and her friends couldn't be trusted. I told Ben repeatedly that, as your stories said, the evil fairy is still the evil fairy. That doesn't change just because she had a child. And what do I get: I get humiliated in front of everybody as he...as he declared his love for _**Mal**_. Of all people, and I had to suddenly grab and get with Chad to because-"

"Shhh," Aurora soothes, bring another hand to caress her daughter's head and wipe her tears. "You don't have to explain. It over now."

King Philip growled and did his best to make it as inconspicuous as he could. He had heard rumors about that game and got mixed stories. Future king or not, Audrey was his only daughter, _his only child_, and for Ben to hurt her like that? Under a love spell or not, he would have killed him. It would have made fighting Maleficent look like a walk in the park!

He knows his daughter was proud, and unlike her mother in many ways, but at that moment when she called crying, all he could do is comfort her over the phone alongside her mother and tell her it would pass.

"I was the bitter ex-girlfriend as she got popular. Cheerleading was only bearable since I was the captain, but most of my friends avoided me in favor of her. Using magic to help the girls grow longer hair. Yeah, so what if I was mean to her on Family Day, Jane was just as well! She took it farther than me almost. And then my reputation when down the hill too. Reduced to a bitter, jealous, vengeful princess now...I don't think I can trust anyone at that school anymore. Maybe I should transfer to Arcadia or maybe Sherwood Academy is better. Ha, maybe that might stick it to 'em!" she laughed bitterly.

"You're not going anywhere because you're staying at Auradon," Queen Leah said finality.

Audrey whipped her head to her in shock. "What?"

"Audi, you can't just hide from your problems. Trust me, I was raised by fairies for 16 years to escape a 100-year sleeping curse and it still happened!" Aurora stated irritatedly.

Shaking his head at his wife, King Philip took over. "Look, Audrey, sometimes in life you've got to pick your battles and to know when it's time to surrender. You sensed something in your gut that told you something was off right?"

She only nodded.

"Good," he continued. "You knew something was off, you tried to warn people, and sometimes, the best and **only** thing you can do is let the chips lie where they fall. It may not feel right or make you feel better, but that's how it can be sometimes. You tried, you fought, probably longer than you should, but you eventually had to move aside. You said your piece and that's all you had to do. Everyone else? They have to live with the fact that they chose not to heed your warning and that's on them. But not you. And that's why you're staying at Auradon. Because as King and Queen, and your parents, you don't get to give up so easily."

"And what if they try to apologize?" Audrey asked. She only thought about it once and decided she didn't want their apologies and excuses.

"Then, you straighten your back, keep your head up, look them in the eyes, grace them with a small smile, and simply say '"Thank You"' and '"I accept your apology"'. Granted, you may not feel like it, but a princess must always carry herself with strength and dignity as well as grace and respect. You may have been born with that title, but the only person who can take that away from you is yourself and by running away, that is exactly what your doing," Queen Leah told, keeping her granddaughter's eyes on her.

The power Audrey felt perforating into her made get into a proper position to raise her head high. While it did do some good for her, part of her knew her family's advice could only do so much.

* * *

**_At Beast Castle..._**

Ben was just about ready to collapse onto his bed when Mrs. Potts came in with a tea tray in hand as well as lunch. He had been holding meeting all day, and the young king-, no _prince_ \- didn't even _want _to think about the inevitable council meeting regarding his status as the future king!

With all the stress from the press, cost of his failed coronation (along with the far off chance of redoing it), letters from various diplomats, as well as notifications and updates on a few certain _**prisoners** _being held in the Enchanted Woods, Ben was starting to question how his father did it all.

And that maybe, just maybe, I'm a little in over my head.

"I made you a couple of turkey sandwiches, grapes, and a fizzy soda to keep up your energy for the rest of the day," she said as she set the tray beside him, before chuckling. "Don't worry, I didn't it laced with a love potion!"

Ben groaned and covered his face. Glad to know someone was enjoying his misery.

Mrs. Potts just so happened to had been in the room with him when Fairy Godmother came to interrogate him for her investigation. She had practically lost her mind when he told her that he was already cured of the spell (via the Enchanted Lake), she heavily advised Ben to get a lawyer soon as possible as he would need one when he had to go up against the council. After all, Ben may have been elected, but in a situation like this, he's supposed to be judged amongst my peers.

And by peers, he meant the royal families, or their representatives included.

"So have you seen the tabloids?" she asked him.

"Unfortunately, yes," Ben answered before sighing. "2 months after I win the election, and I'm already facing dismission."

"Now stop, Ben!" Mrs. Potts smacked him on his side. "There was no way you could have known what was going to happen that day!"

"Yeah, but I did!" he exclaimed. "I knew Mal put a love spell on me, and even after it wore off, I still fell in love with her. And I know she loved me back. She had to..."

Mrs. Potts frowned at the dishearted young man and sat down beside him to pull him into her arms. She had it under great authority that her master's son hadn't really fully processed everything around him and that he was just focusing on different thing to refuse to see the bigger picture:

The boy just got his first broken heart.

It was a sorry sight to see, now especially since like his father, the woman had practically raised him alongside Belle. He may have gotten his temper, but his kind and accepting heart as all his mother's in the end.

The irony of him being spelled and loving a powerful fairy's daughter wasn't lost on her. At least, not with the history his parents share.

"Ben, Ben, look at me," she called, pulling his face up to her and looked him in the eye. "What Mal did was... Not...Your... Fault! That girl and her friends may have only been innocent from the second they were born, but growing up on the Isle, living with the parents they had...sometimes a chance is not enough. Look, I was never on board with your father when he resurrected the dead and plot them far from civilization. And not when it was learned that children were born there and he didn't try to help them. And in some ways more than itself, it's amazing Belle even lifted his curse because those actions clearly should have left him as a Beast for it. And don't you dare tell him I said that!"

Ben nodded his head instantly. He knew his dad was cursed because of his selfish ways before the Enchantress cursed him, and that he stayed that way a long time, growing up to become a bitter shell of himself before his mother came and changed him.

But now Ben was learning you can't change everyone.

"But you did a good thing," Mrs. Potts explained. "You loved her. Before you knew about the spell and long after, you loved her. But for two people in love to be together? For her to walk away from all that she's been raised to know? Honey, that takes so much more than magic. That...That takes the willingness to change, to accept what you can and can't have and the determination to do so. You saw what no one else saw, was willing to see, and you probably wanted to give her all you had because you felt that she deserved it. That she deserved to be more than Maleficient's daughter. Now that's love. I don't know what Mal had going on in her head all this time, but you gave her a chance, more chances than she'd been allowed to have, which wasn't much, to begin with. And at the end of the day, it was her choice to forsake that. Well, that, and the fact that Fairy Godmother put that spell on her wand in the first place."

Ah yes, Fairy Godmother did explain what had happened that had caused Mal and the other villains' kids to spill their hidden agendas. Way back during pre-Auradon's "Dark Ages", her wand had gone missing and ended up in the hands of Lady Tremaine and her stepdaughters, who went back in time and nearly completely undid Cinderella's fairytale with Anastasia in her place! Thankfully it had been averted before it could go too far, but Fairy Godmother decided that her wand itself could easily fall into the wrong hands and it tended to have a mind of its own, hence how she lost it in the first place. So, with the help of Queen Aurora's fairy godmothers, she put a spell on it to ensure anyone who touches it with malicious intents would speak their minds AKA tell the truth upon what they plan once it's in their grasp.

Of course, no one (except the Kings and Queens high up the chain, including Ben) was to know about it. Her logic: "If more people knew about that particular spell on the wand, many would try, and perhaps successfully, create counterspells to bypass it."

So it could be argued that since Jane didn't have any mal intentions once she grabbed the wand, it was the wand itself misbehaving before Mal took it. But when asked why the others - who _weren't _touching it - affected alongside her, Fairy Godmother theorized that because they were all in it together, and Mal is the leader, the wand felt like it had to overreach work on all of them as a whole in spite of that technicality.

The more Ben thought about it now, he could see how beneficial and prospective such a foolproof enchantment could come in handy, especially if it was the only thing to stand between Auradon's safety and it's fall. That evil would never touch something that would cause them to outright expose themselves was almost a brilliant plan.

Too bad no one expected the wand's enchantment to exceed far too well with its purpose on the day of his coronation, and especially have it expose the most nefarious conspiracy from the ones he least expected the most, the ones he was more than devoted to helping.

"I can't keep the word of my decree," he mumbled into Ms. Pott's arm.

She looked down at him. "I beg your pardon?"

Ben removed himself from her grasp and stood up. He rubbed his hand through his hair as he worked up the courage to get his decision.

"I can't keep my word. I let everyone down when I let the children of Maleficent, Cruella De Vil, the Evil Queen, and Jafar into Auradon. Someone could have gotten hurt, or worse, and that would have been on me since they were my responsibility in the first place. I helped them fit in, find peers that shared some of their interests and work through their issues that living on the Isle brought them. And in the meanwhile, I allowed myself to get tricked and could have brought massive danger to national security because I let my guard down. I know I'm young, and I swore on my campaign that I would do my best to lead this country into a brighter future. But my best is not my best if I keep making the mistake of putting myself before my people. I can't and I wrote make my mistake again. So, with a heavy heart," Ben sighed and pronounced, "for the time being, no other children from the Isle of The Lost are allowed to enter Auradon in any means until further notice."


	3. Reveals and Regrets

**Forgot to mention this because someone pointed this out to me: This story is pre-Descendants 2 if it's not obvious.**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

**_At Fairy Godmother's cottage..._**

**3rd POV**

**_"Between the magic mishaps..." (Shows Jane snatching Fairy Godmother's wand and the wand fighting against her as magic is sparking out)...to the climactic entrance of the Mistress of Evil...(shows Maleficent entering coronation hall and turning into a dragon)...just when you thought Auradon has been through enough disturbing misfortunes, nothing hurt more than when Mal, daughter of Maleficent and the soon-to-be-King Ben's girlfriend, took hold of the wand and revealed her sinister plans for her and her accomplices to take over Auradon! Seems like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, or rather, the evil fairy herself,"_** Snow White stated in a mock-serious tone on the news.

"Are you kidding me!?" Jane exclaimed in her pajamas as she watched the late-night Auradonian news on her living room couch. "First off, is there nothing better on tv to watch? Secondly, they're making me look like a bumbling fool!"

**_"Maybe because you are?"_** Lonnie stated humorously through the phone. She was watching the same thing TV special from her Siheyuan - courtyard house - in the Northern Wei while her parents and Li'l Shang were out.

"You're being mean!" Jane accused.

**_"And you were being an idiot! And that's why Maleficent had a chance to get out the Isle!" _**Lonnie answered back truthfully. **_"And you know it too."_**

Jane opened her mouth, prepared to defend herself, but ended up closing it. She honestly had nothing to say to defend her humiliating display on national television. And honestly, she felt she deserved it.

Her mother had been furious with her after they were escorted out of the coronation hall and after interrogating Mal and the others, learning how she had let herself become enticed with magic and her insecurities, and to act on them on one of the most important days in Auradon's history...

Jane had practically wept herself in shame for how impulsive her action had been until her mother had calmed down herself to stop and embrace her. The Fairy Godmother told her that looks aren't everything and that if she wanted to, she could grow her hair out on her own. But regardless of how she looks, she told Jane that magic shines the most when a person believes in herself. Yes, while she first gained a physical appearance thanks to Cinderella, but she existed long within magic itself, coming to those who needed a light in their darkest time.

It took a while until Jane realized what exactly her mother was referencing to:

Hope.

But though her mother grounded her, Jane was allowed to study magic under her tutelage until she was ready. That way, the wand, should she ever hold it again, won't fight with her as much.

**_"By the way, aren't you grounded indefinitely? Won't your mom get mad at you if she catches you watching TV?_**" Lonnie asked, a little worried for her friend.

"Don't worry, I asked. She still hasn't lifted my punishment, slightly. I still am, but she made me swear to watch the news while she was gone. Think she knew what they would be showing about me in ANN?" Jane surmised.

Lonnie laughed. "**_If she did, then she's even gutsier than I gave her credit for!_**"

Jane just rolled her eyes mirthfully and continued to watch the segment on news.

**_"With what my sources have given me, the great betrayal of the villains' kids has left a sore spot in the broken hearts of Auradon Prep students, including none so more than Prince Ben, who has yet to give any comments regarding his coronation or what happened to Mal, her status, and where she is being held now..."_**

**_"And he has the right _****_not _****_to disclose anything!"_** Lonnie screamed, so furious that Jane had to pull the phone away from her ear. "**_He's not just brokenhearted guy who's shutting himself out! He's a would-be king whose about to have the throne taken away from him!"_**

This new information sat Jane right up in her seat. "What!?"

"**_Uh-huh_**," Lonnie growled bitterly, her eyes on the TV screen. Between her, Doug, and Ben, they did their best when they welcomed the VKs into Auradon since Day One. They tried to get to know them, their lives on the Isle - which couldn't have been easy - and she even joined in on getting better hair thanks to Mal - and boy, did her mother have words with her about that- and this is how they repay them!? The only three people (minus Fairy Godmother) possibly in Auradon who wanted them there, and they not only ruin Ben's day but plotted to poison the country from the inside out!?

Lonnie liked to believe she didn't hate things easily. But if there was one thing that crossed the line, it was traitors.

"How did you know this? I didn't know this and I'm sure it would have been mentioned by now!" Jane gasped.

"**_You people tend to forget, Jane, that unlike a good portion of the AP student body who originates from some type of either royal or magical background, my brother and I are born to certified war heroes!_**" Lonnie gritted, still angry. "**_My dad was a general before he was a teacher and my mother saved the Emporer and all of China! When all this went down, my parents were called into action to help with the investigation, which without being said is _obvious_, and one way or another, I'm kept in on the loop. Besides, you'd have to be an idiot to think all of this is gonna happen and that Ben wasn't going to be held some accountability!"_**

"But it's Ben!" Jane yelled. "He didn't know this would happen and he's just as much of a victim of this as...as..."

Jane stopped the moment the person's name came into view in her mind.

Audrey.

"**_Yeah_**," Lonnie breath, calming down, "**_that _was _the thought that came to mind, but I had to put myself in, say, my dad's place and I could see where this was coming from. Yeah, sure the people picked him during the elections, but if I was in a high-ranked position and the person I was supposed to serve under got duped so badly that it could've spelled disaster for the country? Yeah, my faith in them would be badly shaken too. But yes, and you didn't hear this from me! You're mom probably already knows this, especially since she's the head of the investigation, and Ben will need to speak up soon. As his friend, I'd give him all the time he needed. But if he still wants at least another shot at holding his seat and becoming King, then he's going to need to get his story straight and better set up a press conference soon. And that's only just the beginning..."_**

Jane managed to catch most of what her friend was saying, but her mind was still on the Princess of Auroria.

If anyone had asked her about the girl, Jane wouldn't exactly be wrong to say the girl came off strong and sometimes a little vain, especially towards her, but she wasn't as bad as people thought she was. Audrey could be caring and kind in her way, but Jane would also admit to having a rocky relationship her when Mal entered the picture. She never approved of using magic to make someone look pretty, and then faced herself with taunting Mal and her relationship with Ben after Family Day after all she had done for her, which resulted in having her old hairdo again! Before the coronation, the Fairy Godmother's daughter had felt guilty about what she had said and sworn she'd apologize to her (after she fixed her hair) and dropped Audrey, thinking she'd deserved a better friend than her and she was tired of her constant dislike of Mal.

But now, as recalled the mask of indifference on Audrey's face when she severed their friendship, how she tried to keep her posture and accepted, telling her not to come crying if Mal turned out not to be what she thought, how Jane almost believed her harsh and seemingly uncaring words as she turned away like a true noble would, but caught a glimpse of tears running down the princess's cheeks as walked away...

If she saw Audrey again at school, an apology wouldn't even cut it.

**_"Following the events of the failed coronation, I tried to get in contact with the witnesses who were there and with the school being temporarily closed for an unscheduled break, I took the time find some of the students who also bore witness to the spectacle..."_**

Jane and Lonnie both groaned and grumbled at Snow's persistence at a story. Aside from the coronation and Ben, there was nothing else to tell (that wasn't already known to the public).

But then, a familiar face popped up on the screen.

"Tina?!" Jane marveled.

"**_Who?_**" Lonnie asked.

Trying to keep her words together, Jane quickly spoke, "Tina is the daughter of two fairies, the most prominent one being Tinkerbell!"

It took a moment for Lonnie to answer until she utters, "**_Crap_****.**"

Jane remembers Tina too well. At first glance, anyone would think she was just like her mother, and they wouldn't be wrong. She's ambitious, temperamental, impulsive and impatient at best, and she butted heads with Audrey, especially when competing to be cheer captain. Even though she didn't get it, their relationship never changed and ironically, she was one of the few, if not, many people who rooted for Ben's declaration of love to Mal!

Oh, Jane wasn't sure she was going to like whatever she was going to say.

Lonnie knew her too well and the thought of her made her want to punch her lights out. She was extremely feminine and constantly taunted Lonnie for her hobbies and looks, which didn't make sense because Lonnie always thought she could be girly and like to swordfight and dance hip-hop. Chalking that up to jealousy, Tina also vied for Ben's affection, which Audrey was doing at the time too. The latter won before Ben dumped her for Mal, and recalled her snobby attitude when the VKs arrived.

"**_Ms. Tina, what do you recall about the coronation that day? Were you shocked, angered, surprised? Any opinions you would like to share about Prince Ben?" _**Snow asked.

"**_She better not!__" Jane and Lonnie yelled simultaneously._**

"**_Well, I was sitting up in the balcony when it happened. First off, Jane looked like a nutjob when she took the wand! Like seriously, you're having an existential crisis now!?_**" Tina started.

Jane just started glaring daggers to the TV, as if hoping they would hit her.

"**_But then Mal started spewing words of...hate out of her mouth. It was like she was possessed and nothing was stopping her from degrading Auradon like we didn't just do you a favor and get you and your friends off that stinking mess of a garbage island!" _**Tina barked.**_ "_****_But I know it couldn't have been easy to be Ben in that situation, especially when you are apparently under a Love Spell! But frankly, he brought it upon himself and I hope he answers for it..."_**

"**_That's it! The next time I see her, I'm nocking her pearly white teeth out!_**" Lonnie roared, jumping up like she could go into the TV and do harm her herself.

"**_But, if there was anyone I had to say who I feel sorry for in all of this..._**"Tina halted, contorting her face into a sad expression,**_ "__it would be Audrey._**"

And just like that, the two girls, despite being in two different places, dropped their jaws in dumbstruck, completely lost for words.

**_"Audrey? As in Princess Audrey of Auroria? Queen Aurora and King Philip's daughter?" _**Snow White questioned, shocked herself.

Tina nodded.**_ "From the very start, she was never fond of the idea of the VKs coming to town, but of course, it was bad between her and Mal. You know, her mother cursed her family and all? Family feuds that trickled down to the family legacies and honestly, it wasn't so surprising at first. Then, she was so sure the VKs were up to something, right? I mean, don't get us wrong, we were all cautious at first. But then, they didn't seem so bad and the girls, especially Mal, were getting pretty popular and then Jay and Carlos won the championship tourney game and it was all '"WHOO HOO!"'...until Ben practically burst into song and dance, while_****_ giving her his jersey,_****_ asking Mal to be his girlfriend ...while he was still dating Audrey..."_**

Jane didn't even have words to say, still struck speechlessly, but Lonnie wasn't.

And for the Asian girl's sake, it was a good thing too that her family wasn't home because the foul language she started using would have gotten soap in her mouth and it didn't do the situation enough justice as it deserved!

Tina was slandering Ben's name all while bringing Audrey into the full midst of it!

**_"Oh...My...God! He did this!? Was he under the Love Spell at the time?_**" Snow implored.

**_"Now that everything's out in the open, it would make so much sense if he was! It was practically the equivalent of a flashmob and everyone was cheering like of course he would get with Mal! By then, with all the excitement in the air, everyone was jumping and cheering, and nobody saw poor Audrey run off the field, crying her eyes out,"_** Tina pouted, looking like she felt sorry for Audrey.

**_"But I heard she got with Prince Chad?" _**Snow asked.

**_"With due all respect, anyone who just got ultimately humiliated and dumped in front of the entire school by their now-ex would do anything to save face. That of which includes getting with the spoiled prince," _**Tina sighed.**_"By then, even if she did get with Chad, with a justified reason to hate Mal, Audrey spent more time than screaming about how something was wrong, that Ben shouldn't be trusting the VKs and Mal...Well, Mal got the worst of it. See, by then, everyone had thought she was crazy, even I was beginning to think so, that she was so full of vengeance. A victim of Scorned Love, you know. Especially by Family Day when I heard that her grandmother, Queen Leah, met Mal and freaked out! Understandable, considering what Maleficent did to Queen Aurora, but still, it ended badly, and though people started to fear the VKs, especially Jane, Fairy Godmother's daughter, who talked trash to her and got an unflattering hairdo as a result! But for Audrey, her behavior sent almost everyone packing and she was practically alone. No one wanted anything to do with her. Why should they? Whether they feared the VKs or not, it was like picking between two evils and they seemed more preferable to her. Even Jane thought so and they were, like, best friends. Or they were."_**

Not realizing the tears running down and staining her cheeks, Jane was shaking in disbelief at everything that was unfolding on national news.

Everyone knew what she did. She wasn't proud of it, of course not, but she had hoped to at least get a moment alone with Audrey - if she got the chance- and talk to her. But now she can't.

Everyone knew.

There seemed to be sniffling in the background, indicating that Snow White was just as saddened by the story as Jane was.**_ "Poor dear, how did she managed to get through all of that? At the coronation, she seemed happy enough."_**

**_"My only guess is the princess training," _**Tina shrugged, feigning sympathy.**_ "That, and the fact that it was Prince Ben's big day and she loved him enough to let him go and be with Mal, no matter how much it hurt her. She had no one else to lean on, she played her part as a beloved princess and friend watching the boy she loved become King...until everything went downhill from there and the ugly truth came out. Yes, it was unbelievable heartbreaking to see the students who had come to like Mal and the VKs show their true colors, especially Ben, but my heart goes out to Audrey, who I know from this point on is going to get nothing but empty apologies thrown at her for not believing in her." _**

**_"But do you believe she'll accept them?" _**Snow asked, her voice croaked in tears.

**_"Maybe, as Princess Audrey, she'll feel obligated to. But as just Audrey, she would never believe a word that comes out of anyone's mouth again. Why would she? She tried to warn us and we rejected her and made her a pariah. She'll never trust anyone_****_ again,"_** Tina confessed, wiping down tears as they ran own and then looked directly at the camera.**_ "So, Audrey, if you're watching this, I just wanted to let you know that I am so, so sorry for not believing in you."_**

**_The scene changes to a different background where Snow White, who now looks more noticeably like she had heavy makeup done, raised her microphone to her lips before speaking._**

**_"This is..." her voice rasped before getting more control over it again, "this is Snow White reporting back to you after hearing such a heartwrenching story from a student of Auradon Prep in her recounts of the failed coronation, her views in Ben's future, and the sad and gutwrenching tale of how her dear friend, Princess Audrey, had fallen from grace in the light of trying to protect her classmates."_**

**_"THAT A LOAD OF CROC AND YOU KNOW IT!"_** Lonnie screamed from the other side, her voice sounding hoarse from the flying profanities that had left her mouth earlier. "**_Well, not about the Audrey part, but THE IDEA THAT TINA WAS HER 'DEAR' FRIEND! THERE'S NOTHING 'DEAR' ABOUT HER EXCEPT SHE'S NOTHING BUT A SELFISH-"_**

"Lonnie, be quiet!" Jane shouted, tears still running but shaking in anger as well. Jane swore the minute she could practice her magic, Tina would have another thing coming for her!

**_"Judging from my sources now, the Princess of Auroria and her family have not been taking comments ever since the day of the coronation and have been keeping silence in regards to what happens next regarding the future king or their daughter. But in spite of that, I hope that during this period in time that we, as the people of Auradon, will find it in ourselves will band together and try to make sense of these series of unfortunate events. And for the royal family of Auroria, I offer my sincerest apologies for what pain your young princess must be going through and my prayers that she won't feel as alone as she believes. This is Snow White of the _****_Auradon News Network, signing out."_**

Both girls sat in silence as the news went straight to commercial. They didn't want to say anything, because what could be said that wasn't already screamed, cried, or shout out?

The fact that Tina made an entire news spectacle, berating Ben and his choices, making look like a complete buffoon?

The Fact that Tina used the pain of others to raise to some sort of 15-minutes of fame as the person who watched key events go down in her twisted version?

Or the fact now that people knew what students like Jane did to Audrey wand would hounding her doorway from now on like its some major inside scoop?!

Lonnie was the first to speak.

"**_Jane?_**' she asked eerily calmly, "**_Please tell me that of all the bull that was spewing out of that green Christmas trinket's mouth, that none of the things she said about what happened between you and Audrey is true?_**"

Jane wished at that moment, she could say no. She wished she could say it wasn't what it sounded like. That she cast away her best friend for nothing.

But she couldn't. It would be a lie, and Jane didn't deserve to be called anyone's friend after this.

Unbeknownst to Jane and Lonnie, nearly every single person with access to television was watching this news broadcast, from all 18 regions of Auradon who heard this story, from royalty to commoners alike.

Even a certain prince in Beast Castle who had his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking in guilt.

* * *

**_Two weeks later..._**

Just like Jane had thought, the paparazzi were following Audrey's family like hungry animals, looking for their next prey to feast on!

And no one was angrier about it than King Philip.

Whenever they went out, cameras were following them everywhere, asking them to comment on the royal gossip or Audrey, to which King Philip had to fight to hold his tongue as he was baited to say one word that would reflect badly on his family.

Queen Leah had been nothing but regal and respectful when she received phone calls from magazines and news anchors to comment about her granddaughter, to which she simply declined and asked them not to try to reach her again.

Queen Aurora took her mother's example and tried to do the same thing, especially when he needed to go on outings that required her attention. When asked about Audrey, she would answer, "She's fine", "My daughter is actually looking forward to moving on from this delicate situation", "I have no comment on Prince Ben and anything regarding his relationship with Audrey", and "There is nothing left to say that I haven't already said."

But King Philip had the most trouble keeping calm. Despite his best efforts, he tried to not end up snapping at the reporters regarding his daughter and her silence and unseen whereabouts from society. Out in public, he tried to remain as strong as unmoving as his father did in times of crisis, but once he was in his castle, he didn't hesitate to go to Audrey's bedroom.

The poor girl had watched the broadcast that night and had holed herself in her room the next day, only letting in servants to bring her food. To Audrey, it was like the game all over again, but it got worst. Her phone was blaring up, calls from news anchors, gossip magazines and, to her worst, classmates that she didn't want to speak to. It was one thing if the whole incident had stayed a high school incident, but considering the pressure her family was under, it made her want to hide in her room and hope she never comes out.

Eventually, Queen Leah was ready to put her foot down and remove the door so she could be forced out, but King Philip managed to convince Audrey to let him in and in exchange, he would let her do whatever she wanted regarding the most obscene things like painting his nails, put accessories in his hair or just talk. He didn't mind it really (well, he could admit he rathered have Aurora in his place than him at times), but anything to distract her from the outside world was enough for the king.

But not to say they were alone in the matter.

When Tinkerbell learned what her daughter did, she just whisked the teenager away to Pixie Hollow to stay with her father to distribute pixie dust and apologized for the mess she made. Hopefully, it would teach her daughter respect for slandering important names.

When Fairy Godmother confronted Jane about what happened, the girl broke down in tears and the mother couldn't help but console her, seeing that her child regretted her action.

Lonnie got caught swearing by her grandmother, who told her parents, but once she explained it to them, they let her have a pass but restricted her from hip hop- assuming she got it from the music lyrics...

And as for Ben, his family received some of the worst backlashes. Out of guilt, he added his parents to the list of people 2 people who knew that the Love Spell was not active on his coronation day and why.

And King Adam was livid. His words:

"Do you have any conceivable idea what you've done!? First, you got a Love Spell put on you against your will. Secondly, when said spell wore off, you didn't even try to confront the culprit and report her for the obvious abuse of magic. Thirdly, you let the young girl who spelled you into your inner circles as she was getting closer and close to the wand, just like she wanted. Fourthly, you commit an entire spectacle of yourself, in front of many people, including the children who had videos of it that are currently being spread across the country as we speak. And last but not least, you completely humiliated the princess and only daughter of one of our allies and disrespected her in the worst ways possible, leaving it up in the air if Auroria would want to sever their ties with us in her defense! I hope you learned a valuable lesson about rational thinking, my son because clearly, you haven't even been thinking about your actions in the first place!"

Belle had managed (hardly) to calm her angry husband down as she looked at her son in dispair. She knew he was paying for his actions already and throwing them in his face, no matter how justified, wouldn't help.

But there is one thing they all agreed upon: Audrey must be given the chance to speak for herself before this is too blown out of proportion.


	4. The Gathering

**Alright, for anyone who's watched Descendants 3:**

**1: RIP Cameron Boyce and know he'd be here if he could.**

**2\. Don't tell me y'all listened to "Queen of Mean" and were not crying in tears of the sheer awesomeness of how deep it was!?**

**And secondly, I'll be making stuff/locations up as I go since Descendant Wiki isn't helping much in details and I refuse to read the books! And due to my research of elective monarchies, I'm switching it up a bit to having Auradon's government resembling an elective monarchy/democracy hybrid of sorts.**

**ENJOY**

* * *

_**In Auroria...**_

_**Sunday...**_

**3rd POV**

"What about this?"

"Nope."

"And this?"

"No."

"What about this t-shirt?"

"Didn't I get you that for Christmas?" King Philip asked, causing his daughter to moan.

Audrey had been sitting with her father for the better part of the afternoon after she had finished painting his nails again -a surprising pink and blue combo that suited him - and was helping her pick out her clothes for school before it started up again.

"Alright, how about this?" Audrey asked as she brought out a pink and baby blue sweater from her closet.

She watched him put his head on his cheek, looking at it in question, before shaking his head.

"Great," Audrey mumbled sarcastically before throwing it into an increasingly growing pile of clothes she swore she'd give away.

"Wouldn't you prefer your mother or grandmother to help you with this? I may have grown up in royalty, but there was a reason it took me a while to pick out my clothes," Philip states, watching as she went through her closet.

"Exactly...in a weird sense," Audrey explained. "By you saying '"NO"' at my choices, you're doing me a huge favor of helping me clean out my closet and getting rid of unwanted, childish clothes. Maybe it's time for me to get a new style these days. Besides, if these don't make it to any thrift stores, they might make it to the Isle anyways."

This piqued the king's interest. Aside from her rivalry with Maleficient's daughter, she never spoke much of how she felt about it.

And apparently, that thought was obvious on his face because Audrey caught it and groaned.

"Yes, Dad, believe it or not, I do have thoughts about that place!" Audrey exclaimed. "Look, from another bleeding heart's eyes, Ben's proclamation seemed like a good idea. I mean, it's Ben! He's nice, considerate, brave...It was just so like him to make that decision even if everyone was not on board. And as a princess, I've had to see two sides of this, especially now with the coronation. But as Audrey, lady-like or not, I could have cared less who he invited over. It just pissed me off when I found out he invited Mal! After all her mother had done to this family! To Mom! To you! To grandma! It was like...it was like he didn't even consider how I would have felt about it. As if I was supposed to just accept it lying down! And next thing I know, I'm shunned and now this is happening!"

As if simultaneously trying to prove her point, her phone buzzed from her dresser and Audrey opened it to her text messages and emails before handing it to her father to look.

Grasping it in his hand, he was surprised to see a growing number of at least 200 messages and more emails from various people, news anchors and magazines ranging from apologies to asking for exclusive interviews since that news report broke out.

And it was still climbing.

King Philip shook his head in annoyance before handing the phone back to his daughter. He'd have to give her a new number and launch a private investigation of his own to see how the press got wind of her personal number.

"I wish I could make it better for you," he sympathized, "and you're not the first royal to go through this. You want proof, ask General Shang and Mulan what they had to deal with after dealing with the Huns. Especially Mulan, adding up the fact that she was practically from a civilian family!"

"Yes, because nothing seems more strenuous when you're a war hero, a cursed princess, fairy, mermaid or whatever! But this!?" she gestured to her phone. "This isn't some random glorified honor from escaping an evil witch, enchantment or saving thousands of lives! This is from pity and deception to use me and my feelings to start some propaganda against Ben and discourage his right to the throne! Nobody cares about me! All they care about is some sob story about the girl who was right all along and got cast aside until everything hit the ceiling! The press won't stop until they get what they want."

"And you know to give them what they want..." Philip started.

"...I'd have to come out for a press conference and speak up," she finished. "And I don't know if I can."

And the reason was simple: Princess Audrey, the one poised with grace, would break down and show her real side and the pain she wore behind the mask.

All her life, she grew up beside Ben. He was practically her best friend, and sometimes her only defender when the going got rough. To say she fell in love with him wouldn't be an understatement, but watching him fall in love with another girl, a girl that's not even human...

Learning that she wasn't what he wanted and never would be stung, but when she tried to win him back after that awful game, it only proved she must've been a glutton for punishment.

**_Flashback..._**

_What she was doing was stupid._

_No, it wasn't stupid..._

_It was completely immoral and selfish and goes against everything her princess training taught her!_

_Thoughts of all the things that could go wrong with this stunt ran through her head as she stood in the doorway of an empty classroom during the lunch period._

_She had at least 30 minutes until class started up again and this may have been her only chance to act, and only hope she could except whatever happened next._

_Looking at her watch and seeing it was almost time to enact her spontaneous plan, she opened the door slightly ajar, enough to go unnoticed to any passerbyes yet also enough to open and grab the person intended._

_And like clock-work, she heard it. The light clicking of the bottom of a pair of shoes walking on the hardwood floors increasing as they came up the hallway heading to the main office when Audrey quickly widened the door, grabbed her intended and dragged him into the classroom with her, slamming the door shut behind her._

_"A-Audrey, wha-" Ben started, clearly startled._

_But before he could get another word out, Audrey grabbed him by the front of the jacket and pulled him in for a kiss!_

_As she pressed his lips against him, Audrey thought of everything she was taught as a princess: To be kind, humble, handling problem solving and being nice to others. But they weren't working for her now. If she had learned anything from all the royal queens and their fairytales, their own choices that led to their happy endings._

_If it worked, she would have Ben back, try to find out what went wrong and maybe she fix it. And after that, if she decided they were at a good place, she would demand an apology for his ludicrous behavior at the game, if he hadn't already apologized by then._

_But then she thought about what if it didn't work. What if she couldn't lure Ben back to her? Then what? She should just accept defeat? NO! She's been through enough and she was losing friends and her reputation was at stake! Everything was fine until Mal entered the picture and nothing was going right!_

_Ben loved her, right? He had too. They had grown up together. When they were kids, he was the only one defended her when Chad mocked her for being too girly and playing with dolls, saying she couldn't play with them because of it. Ben had stood up for her and said that just because she was a girl didn't mean she shouldn't be allowed to play with them and that Chad was wrong for trying to exclude her._

_His sense of righteousness and fairness was what made her fall for him, even ar the age of 6._

_He never changes that part of him, even when he decided to campaign for King against the other royals who were older and experienced. Even if Ben would never know this, even his parents doubted him. But Audrey, she stayed by his side, solely to help him with anything that was needed. She believed he could win and she wanted to be by his side. Yes, she was aware that if he won, he could make her his Queen, a fact every and her grandmother was aware of (hence why Auroria was one of Ben's supporters), but by the end of the day, she did it all for Ben and more, so he must have loved her! You don't do things like that unless..._

_Before she could finish that thought, Ben's hands moved up yo her shoulders and pushed her away, gently breaking the kiss._

_Audrey didn't hesitate to look him in the eyes. She watched the conflicted emotions flash before his eyes as if he was deciding whether or not he was dealing with a royal advisor and not his ex-girlfriend._

_But what emotion Ben's eyes landed on made something in Audrey's heart._

_Pity._

_"I'm sorry, Audrey. But I'm in love with Mal," Ben stated with finality._

_Audrey just stood root as his words played over and over in her head while he simply walked past her and out of the classroom._

_Ben didn't love her._

**_Flashback ends..._**

Audrey had to learn a painful lesson that day. And it was that no matter how much she devoted herself to him, she would never be enough.

She remembered walking to her dorm, completely unaware of her surroundings until she made it to her bed and cried for the rest of the day, ignoring classes and cheer.

But after that, Audrey put on the mask of Princess Audrey and decided to play her part. Be his loving friend and a part of the support system that helped Ben become King and watch as he'd become a worthy king Auradon would remember for ages.

It didn't matter how she'd feel in the long run, and she'd ignore the pain as she watched Mal sit beside him on his coronation if it made Ben happy. But she'd always feel that something was amiss with the dark fairy's daughter and maybe, somewhere deep down, she'd hope it was paranoia and she was wrong.

Until Jane took the wand...

"Would you still defend him?" Philip asked her, the question sounding more like a statement.

"He deserves to be King, Dad. Regardless of his judgment," Audrey admitted, "So I ask of you, as King of Auroria, to bring my request to bring upon the Auradonian Royal Council and speak on my behalf."

King Philip looked at her perplexed. "Why involve the council when you can make the behalf here?"

"You asked if I would still protect Ben and I said yes. But can't do that unless I can show the nation that I still stand by him as an Auradonian citizen. I'm not blind, Dad, and I know you've been considering seceding Auroria from Auradon."

For the first time in a long while, Philip flinched. He hadn't expected Audrey to know that. It had started as a quick thought in anger but, admittingly, the longer he spent private time with his daughter, the more the hasty thought had been given more consideration. Did one of the servants tell her or is he was just that obvious?

"Grandmother Flora told me in secret," Audrey answered, knowing what he was thinking. "She knows a thing or two about goes on in royal gossip and felt I had a right to know, particularly since you're considering it too. Anyways, I'm much Auradonian as I am Aurorian, and when the young man I helped put on the throne rights is being threatened, then it is my duty as his ally to defend that right until he's proven unworthy."

"You don't owe him anything," Philip inquired. This caused Audrey to turn and give him a regal expression that resembled that of a great royal princess.

He was not looking at Audrey, his daughter, but now at Audria, the proud Princess of Auroria and King Philip couldn't stop the proud smile that grew on his face as she spoke.

"What he owes me and what he deserves are far two different things," Audrey proclaimed.

* * *

**_Tuesday..._**

Hours after his discussion with Audrey, King Philip sent out a formal request to Former King Adam, Prince Ben and other members of the council (made up of 2 representatives from each region making 12 - minus Neverland, Wonderland and the Isle of the Lost) to request a meeting, hinting a little about his daughter coming forth to speak. And to his luck, there was a sound agreement!

The king cleared a spot in his schedule for the meeting and headed out with Flora (as a punishment for discussing his thoughts with Audrey) to Auradon City, where the meeting would be held in the Grand Belle Hall, a public library and town hall Adam had created in honor of his wife.

From the moment he entered the meeting, he was graced by the presence of Princess Ting-Ting and her husband Ling of the Northern Wei, Esmerelda and Phoebus of Notre Dome, Former King Frederic and Former Queen Arianna of Tangletown, Snow White and Prince Florian of Charmington, King Triton's daughters, Attina and Alana, a few other representatives, and of course, Former King Adam and Prince Ben.

At the sight of the prince, King Philip did his best to be civil (not skewering Ben with his sword) and quickly got to the point of Audrey's request and her reasoning behind it.

As he anticipated, Philip was met with mixed reviews. Those who were more than aware of the situation were skeptical because of the newscast (thanks to Tinkerbelle's daughter) and felt that even if she wouldn't mean to, it would make the matters worse. Others could see past it and believed that if the young princess was willing to put aside her personal feelings and speak up, it would help quell the outraged citizens and get most of the media off their back, especially Ben's.

King Adam was more than supportive for the latter, but it was, ironically, Ben who was for the former, not because he'd think she'd slander him but because she didn't need to defend him and he was capable of protecting himself and not draw any more attention towards her.

Philip had to hold his tongue, biting the urge to comment that he hadn't cared about protecting his daughter before, but he had to be civil and accept it.

When it got put to a vote, those in favor of letting Audrey speak won by 8 out of 12.

It was decided that because of Auradon Prep coming back into session after the weekend, it would be held on this Friday and Snow White had happily assured the king that the network would more than agree to cover the conference in three days and get Audrey more than just her voice heard!

* * *

**_Three Days Later..._**

**_At the Auradon Cathedral..._**

The press conference was held inside the Auradon Cathedral, another part of Audrey's request. Snow White had not joked about her network being more than ready to cover the gathering. Lightings were adjusted every few minutes, cameras were angled at certain parts of the church and the altar, where a podium was set up.

Many citizens, reporters, journalists, and a few members of royalty and respected faces quickly gathered inside and took their seats, creating a massive crowd only coming close to the comparison of that to Ben's coronation! Everyone wanted to know what Audrey had to say, and when the news broke out for this conference, it was a race to get the best seats and get more insider info.

To say Audrey was nervous was an understatement. She had attended events like this before, and had everything not gone wrong, would've been sitting beside Ben as he took the throne. But it seemed like everything paled in comparison when she was the one in the spotlight.

And suddenly, her speech sounded worthless in her head in comparison to writing it for the last two days, adding an improve on the way to the building she had running through her head!

She thought back to the previous night when her family came to check on her and saw she was still awake.

**_Flashback..._**

_"Audria, why are you still awake at this untimely hour?!" her grandmother exclaimed, scaring her from the papers spreading all over her desk. "And why is your room so messy!?"_

_Looking around, Audrey finally took notice to the floor around her desk area is covered with crumpled up balls of papers. She hadn't realized she scrapped that many ideas._

_Philip bent down and picked up one of them, reading through it and seeing how orderly yet incomplete it was to resemble a speech._

_"Sorry, Grandmother. I just can't sleep. I have to speak tomorrow and everything I come up with is not even close to resembling what I want to say. It's like my brain has turned to mush!" Audrey frets, rubbing her hands through her now-messy hair._

_"Audi, what you need is some time to sleep. You've been at this since you've gotten the approval and nothing will make this better if you tire yourself out and pass out on stage," Aurora said, trying to help her daughter from her desk._

_Shaking her head, Audrey stated "No, I have to finish this so that Auradon could take this seriously and Ben can be on his way back to the throne! I have to get this right!"_

_"You're not helping yourself if you're deprived of sleep," Leah said. "You're hours away from speaking in front of news reporters and columnists and if you don't even look your best, that's all they'll be focusing on." _

_"You don't have to speak up if you don't want to. Nobody is forcing you to do this," Philip adds in...Only to receive a vicious glare from his daughter._

_"But I am, Dad, and no one can convince me otherwise. The press won't stop until I give them a bone to feed on, and if that bone is going to be me, then, I'll make it one of the most delicious bones it can be!" she argued before taking a deep breath, calming herself. "I just...I just have to get this speech right."_

_Aurora looked at her for a minute before suggesting, "Why not speak from your heart?"_

_Audrey immediately scoffed at that. "That won't work. They need a princess, not some heartbroken girl." _

_"And that's the point," her mother continued, putting Audrey's hand in hers. "You are both a princess and a heartbroken girl. You were once Ben's lover and one of his closest friends. A friend that suffered betrayal for only trying to protect her future king and their nation. What you need to show to the country is that yes, you are royal, but you also have a heart and feelings and that you're passionate about how you feel and the injustice of it, but additionally how you wish for a turnabout for Ben and Auradon to see better days. Essentially, show them that you are a girl who's willing to forgive past wrongdoings and that you are loyal to the young man you plan to serve under."_

**_Flashback ends..._**

Audrey took her mother's advice and allowed herself a few hours of sleep until she awoke and put her true feelings to paper. As she expected, the tears of her pain were evident in her writing, but she put up a royal front and integrated it into something close enough to deserving to be spoken in front of a live audience.

But that was now leaving her head as her anxiety grew.

Feeling a sudden hand grasp her shoulder, she jumped up in fright and turned to relax as she saw it was her father. Her family would be sitting in the front row for support.

"Are you ready?" he asked.

"No," she admitted.

Philip nodded. "Good. All the more reason to use that fear to drive you on that podium. I and your mother will be watching, no matter what you have to say."

Feeling an invisible blanket of comfort draped over her, she smiled weakly and quickly hugged her dad when someone came and told her it was time to go.

Giving Audrey an encouraging smile, King Philip watched as she was rushed away into the hall and the lion's den.


	5. The Confessions

**This one is a long run and almost made it this chapter and the last one into a full-on one-piece, but decided this would be better as a two-piece chapter.**

**COMMENT AND ENJOY!**

* * *

**_At the Auradon Cathedral..._**

The crowd stood as Princess Audrey walked down the nave of the cathedral, watching as she strides with all the poise and radiance that only a true royal princess can achieve, her head up, shoulders back, and balanced equally fair on both feet. She resembled a strong neutral expression that nobody could read and held herself in an air of dignity that is making the former queen of Auroria proud as she watched from ahead.

As Audrey reached the podium, she ignored the chatter, the flashing lights, the cameras following her and the whispered about her as she took the center of the altar and, taking a deep breath, spoke into the mic on the podium.

"Hello, my fellow citizens. My name is Princess Audria of Auroria, but some of you most likely knew that already," Audrey joked, successfully receiving several laughs in the crowd. "I must admit, I lost quite a bit of sleep last night trying to figure out what I could say in front of you all today, but I need to use my voice and I am more than thankful to have you here today."

This got a few claps from the crowd.

"Now_,_" Audrey started, "I asked for this conference to be held here for a few reasons. One, the acoustics are great. And another was because of what had happened at in this very hall two weeks ago when Prince Ben was supposed to be crowned king here, and what we got instead was evil fairies came crashing in and evil plots were revealed. Some call it a scandal, and some call it a great misfortune, but I call it a sad note that ended what was supposed to be a wondrous occasion. And not long after that, the truth about Maleficient's daughter using a Love Spell on became common news and suddenly, the young man who worked tirelessly to earn the people's approval was being threatened to be revoked. And then came the newscast that brings me here today. To tell my side of things and, I will admit, to hopefully restore the faith that was lost in Ben. But to see understand how we got here, I have to go to the start, So let me tell you the story:

Once upon a time, a young baby girl was born a princess to a King and Queen of Auroria. She had no idea what tragedy her family had narrowly avoided at the hands of a dark fairy named Maleficient and what pain and joy it had brought when a family divided and reunited at long last. As she grew older, she had learned of the fairytale of Sleeping Beauty, her mother's story, and how fearful she got every time she imagined herself being cursed by a spinning spindle and a hundred-year sleep. She was more than happy to hear that the fairy would never harm her family again and they would live in love and joy and being together. She grew up with royal lessons, played instruments, had the best instructors until she was given the chance to meet other royal kids just like her. And she'd never know she'd meet a boy who would inspire a lot of influence on her.

The boy's name was Ben Florian and they had met at a royal gathering in honor of his mother's birthday. All the royal families had brought their kids with them and she watched as they were given a chance to play in the garden. When the young princess asked if she could play with him and some of the other kids, one boy pushed her and said she was too girly to play with them and that she should just play with the doll she brought with her. Induced to tears, the princess got up and started to run away, deciding to be by herself when someone grabbed her hand. She had looked see none other than Prince Ben keeping her still. He looked at the other boy and proclaimed: "You're wrong for believing that and should apologize for what you just said. Just because she likes to wear skirts and play with dolls doesn't mean she can't play with us. She deserves to be here just like the rest of us and it's only fair that you respect that." He was young, spoke big words, but the princess understood what he did decided then and there she would be one of his best friends and greatest defender, to protect him as he protected her that day.

I was that princess, and even if he had forgotten what he did that day. I never did," she finished.

* * *

**_At Beast Castle..._**

Ben was shocked as he watched the conference through his TV from the living room, his parents and family servants all invited to watch as well. He had wanted to go and watch her speak, had been dressed and ready to go, but Adam stopped him. He reasons that if she had to watch him from a distance, he owed her the respect to do the same.

He had completely forgotten that day, and the more Audrey recounted it, the more he remembered! It was his mom's birthday and it was treated as a huge celebration. Royal children were brought along with their parents for the party and, in a political move, to meet the future kings and queen they would be allying themselves with in the future. Some of the kids were playing in the gardens and he and Chad ad been amongst them. He remembered a little girl with braided hair, wearing a pink dress, shyly coming over and asking to join them. He recalled Chad, who never grew out of his rudeness, pushing her down and saying she was too much of a girl to play with them. Ben remembered seeing her cry and about to run away but he stopped her and practically told Chad off before letting her join in.

Ben groaned, putting his head in his hand and shaking his head.

That was the first day he ever met Audrey...and she had been there ever since.

* * *

_**Back at the cathedral...**_

"From that very day, I remembered doing everything I could to see him. Trying to get into Beast Castle to see him, writing letters, sneaking into meetings just to be in the same room with him. I know, it sounds like a classic school girl crush and unbecoming of a princess-in-training, but it was so much more than that. He radiated goodness and I couldn't help but want to be with him. Luckily, our parents noticed and it wasn't long until I was able to see him whenever I wanted, especially when Auradon Prep was founded. After that, I'll admit to becoming quite vain in the process of it all. I wanted to look good, no, amazing beside him just so I could be deserving to be anywhere close to him, to look just right for him. I started taking my princess lessons seriously, maybe too much that I came off rude to others that...that I became a bully. I probably became unbearable to my peers, so much it must've been questioned how I was Queen Aurora's daughter if I was so mean. But someone must have seen something in me. The Fairy Godmother's daughter did, or she had until I pushed her too far. So, for anybody who is watching this, including Jane, I'm sorry for the pain I caused you to decide that I wasn't worthy of being your friend. And I hope you can forgive me for it."

* * *

**_At Fairy Godmother's Cottage..._**

Jane was wrapped in her mother's arms, the fairy trying to sooth the girls as tears came pouring out her eyes at the televised apology the princess was reaching out to her.

* * *

"It would most likely sound like a petty excuse to say I became like that for Ben, but it was the truth. That, and of my own choices as well. I can't hide that part if I'm going to speak, so I needed to get this out. When Ben asked me to be his girlfriend, I was shocked. I wanted to have his attention and be right next to him, but when he asked to be his girlfriend, it was more than what I could have wanted. A chance to be by his side unconditionally, because he wanted me there, was the best thing that I could treasure, and I strove to be a good girlfriend. To comfort him, to be the ear that listens, his closest confidante, and try my best to be as understanding as I could. So when King Adam stepped down, and the elections began, when he told me he was running I didn't hesitate to help with his campaign. I worked with him during his tour, helped rally support from the citizens, convinced my own family (justified in their reason to believe he might not win) to throw in support from Auroria for his backing. Maybe I'm a little ahead of myself, but I probably did more work than the experience workers paid to help launch his campaign. And it was worth it, because the moment it fell on the council to choose him, the light glowed from his eyes when he realized he would be the next King of Auradon! That happiness that shone from him made me more than certain I would be by his side no matter what happens.

I was the very first person he told his proclamation to. I was honored until I found out what it was. To be fair, if any of you had asked any of the students how I felt about children coming from the Isle to come here, it wouldn't be untrue to say I hated the idea. But it wasn't for the reason they thought. See, I have a secret condition about me, less medical, but more magical:

I have a high sensitivity to magic.

I was diagnosed when I was born when my mother's fairy godmothers tried to bless me, and I didn't have a good reaction to it. Like some people have allergies that affect their bodies inwardly or make their skin break out or anything that would lead to serious hospitalization if not properly cared for, my "allergy" at it's basic, takes more after like a drug. Maybe it was a side effect from Maleficient's curse, we weren't sure. But magic has never been good for me. I broke my arm once and when one of the fairies tried to use magic to heal me, I was...euphoric, my senses tingling everywhere, everything felt loud but I couldn't understand it. It took hours for it to wear off. And that was Light Magic. Dark Magic was another story. I was on a field trip to the Museum of Cultural History and wandered off from my group. I found myself in the artifacts section and was feeling across from the euphoric sensation of Light Objects and the sinister sensation of the Dark Objects, and it was irritating and driving me insane feeling trapped, especially since I couldn't tell which was which and was causing me to be like that. I accidentally found myself near the Evil Queen's poisoned apples and when my teacher, who just happened to be Fairy Merryweather, found me... I was completely terrible to her. I said earlier that I was a bully to some of my peers, but my attitude at that moment would come off as downright evil! I had no control of myself, my actions, or the things I said until she used magic to knock me out.

Both incidents happened been close together. Yes, my family knew I was sensitive to magic, but by then, they knew just how bad it was. So, it was decided to not use magic around me at all times and remain the family secret...until now. And considering the tales I've heard of magic used for evil deeds, I was more than happy for the arrangement. And in case you're wondering how I was able to attend Auradon Prep when a good portion of the school population are magical creatures? Thankfully, King Adam had long proclaimed that students rely on their talents and not magic to do well in school, and due to the low use of magic, I was able to attend risk-free.

All of this goes back to Ben's proclamation because anyone he picked from that island could manifest their powers, should they be magical beings, and practically radiate after it being suppressed for all their lives. It would be less about using and more about just being in their proximity and being affected. So, to conclude, I can sense the use or residual of magic and have completely different reactions to it. I had told the nature of my condition to Ben, but I can only guess he didn't realize just how crucial it was. Maybe it would have affected the children he chose, maybe not. I'll never really know."

* * *

**_At Beast Castle..._**

Ben's jaw dropped significantly at the confession. Now that he thought about it, from the stories she was telling, he never accounted for her condition to be that bad. Yes, she told him about it, but Ben never assumed that it was that dangerous. He only thought she just gravitated to magical objects, be able to tell when something...

If Audrey had such a serious reaction to magic, was she the first to know he was under a Love Spell? Is that why she kissed him that day? Did she even know he was being influenced by magic?

The questions made a migraine form in his head and as much as he wanted to lay down, he needed to hear what Audrey was letting out.

He needed to know where he failed her.

* * *

_**At Fairy Godmother's Cottage...**_

"Is she serious!?" Jane asks, completely flabbergasted. Could Audrey really feel magic and not have told anyone!?

The thoughts that if she had made this public knowledge would have undone everything the VKs had did! She probably knew Mal was performing magic long before she even did the hair spells, and even after that! Did she know that Ben was under a spell as well?

All these thoughts circulated in Jane's head as she watched the TV and come to realize that, perhaps, Audrey's worst behavior around the VKs weren't just her being mean and petty, but that they were completely overriding her sensitivity, borderline driving her insane!

"Huh," her mother muttered. Jane turned to her.

"Did you know this?" Jane questions, a little mad if it turns out to be true.

"I won't answer that," the Fairy Godmother stated. "Audrey's condition is very rare, and, if honed, could be dangerously useful if placed in the wrong hands. If I was aware, I wouldn't have told and it wouldn't be my place to say anything. This was strictly between her and her family, and the fairies, and unless she made it known as she's doing now, no one would know. And I can comprehend what you're thinking. Could Audrey had sensed the magic being used? Most definitely so. But she can only sense magic, not emotions. The fact that her reactions show through her moods and behavior is something worth looking into with the Genie though. Maybe we can offer her assistance."

Inwardly, the Fairy was thinking about the implications the young princess held and felt sorrow for her. If Audrey felt the Love Spell on Ben, she should have known it had worn off. But if she didn't know about it, and perhaps tried to win him back, unaware of his love for Mal not being magic-induced...

If her love for Ben was like she was telling it, the truth would lead to pure heartbreak.

* * *

"I didn't know who he had planned to come over from the Isle until that very day they arrived. Not to mention that 3 of the 4 had magic abilities, one being a witch, the next being half-Djinn and the next being the offspring of the dark fairy that cursed my mother! And to keep it simple, I was cross with him! Add in all the stories I head about Maleficient, her magic, and the fact her daughter would come into her magic once crossing the barrier - and her magic being highly probable dark magic - sent me worlds away! I was angry, I'll admit, and I told him not to get too close to them!

Their magic, which I'm more than certain I felt activate from the moment the barrier was let down to let them in, the fact they were raised by some of the worst villains, and my family's history were 3 key reasons to had been against them coming to Auradon. But there was another reason for me to suck it up:

When Prince Ben first told me his proclamation, he told me it was because he had grown up with everything a child could need: A warm bed, food, a place to feel safe. For all the opportunities he had, those kids were denied just because of who their parents were and that never felt right to him. He said to me '"Everyone deserves a chance to choose who they want to be. There's no reason for them to be. I'm happy to have what I have, to be my parents' child and be King soon, but every time I look out to the Isle, I feel like, as a nation, we abandoned those kids and they deserve to be given the same chances we have. Despite what is being said about the Isle, it's a prison at the end of the day and those kids don't deserve to be there."'

At that moment, I saw that little boy that defended me turn into a young man more than worthy of being a king. His sense of justices and fairness never changed, but mature and grew. And I fell in love with him all over again. So that day the limo parked in front of Auradon Prep, regardless of the headache I was feeling from that sensory overload from the magic coming off them, and imperfect first impression be damned, I was going to stick it out for as long as I could."

* * *

The crowd was awed at the young princess's story.

Snow White was eating this up on the sidelines. A princess, completely in love with the Good King, suffered in every sense of the mind and body, to help her love's goal see fruition!? Even the most cold-hearted Auradonian, especially one like Grumpy, couldn't deny how poignant this story was!

And everyone was eating it up! The "**Princess Audrey's Tell-All Inclusive**" was shaping up to be one of the most highest-grossing, live audience recording so far, perhaps higher than the coronation!

The princess's family, however, had different views as the princess spoke.

King Philip wasn't sure whether to be proud or angry. Proud at his daughter for coming forward, but angry at Ben all the more for his insensitivity! He wasn't stupid. Someone would have found out about Audrey's condition eventually, and between Merlin and Fairy Godmother being the only beings he'd trust with that information, may the Olympian Gods help anyone who'd tried to take advantage of her!

And Ben knew! He knew about it and still let her get hurt! King Philip was one step-off from sending a very _personal_ message to the prince to ensure he'd think twice before even trying to be in his daughter's presence when school starts.

Queen Aurora was more than proud of Audrey for telling the truth. Yes, she was more than displeased with her actions to her fellow students, but if one must lose something to gain something, then she hoped that admitting her shortcomings would help Audrey heal in the long run. Besides, she was blessed to be kind at birth! Due to her daughter's sensitivity, she would never have been just limited to be acting one way, and if being unkind was one of them, so be it! Her imperfect daughter was better when she could be anything she wanted, emotionally.

Former Queen Leah had some misgivings but was impressed with none of the less. She hadn't expected her granddaughter to leave herself bare like that, or to learn of her spoiled tendencies, but unlike Cinderella's son, she was willing to admit it and ask for forgiveness. And a princess that is nothing but humble, and that is where she couldn't be more than pleased.

* * *

"I'm going to skip a little ahead of myself and bring up parts of the newscast that I believe some of you are wondering about. What happened at the game? Shouldn't I have known Ben was under a Love Spell?

To be fair, I was unaware of it. See, between his coronation planning, classes, sports, extracurricular activities and, of course, trying the help the former kids of the Isle feel welcomed, I was lucky enough if I was able to catch him in between classes, or even a minute of his time. And by the time of the game, it was one of the few events we shared. But there was more to it: Mal had been using magic continuously throughout the school, and my far less-than-appropriate behavior, a side effect of the constant use, was driving me up to the walls. When I found out she used a spell to help the girls grow their hair out, which was against the dress code, I had reasons for being against it. The selfish part was because I didn't want anyone to be any more beautiful than me. That was vanity on my part and another thing I'd apologize for. A less-selfish reason was that the spells were producing magic and giving me painful migraines the staff members that were aware of my condition sent me to the nurse to recover, which was more than often. It couldn't tell whether it was Light or Dark magic, but it was affecting me nonetheless. My only theory is that perhaps the sensory overload I was experiencing maybe a large reason why I wasn't able to tell that Ben was spelled when I got close to him.

My already-overriding senses were canceling out the magic from the spell even from in front of me. But that's just my theory.

But when...but..." Audrey chocked, not being able to get the words out. This is the hardest part she could get to.

She didn't want to recall the "break up". Her ultimate humiliation, her betrayal, the moment her life fell apart...

* * *

**_At Beast Castle..._**

Bens heart raced as he watched Audrey struggle. He knew which part came next, and it was taking all his self-loathing and guilt not to just run out the room.

He had no right to be upset when he made Audrey feel possible 10x that and more! So if he was going to suffer, then it would be in silence. It's nothing close to what she had to live with, but he'd owed it to her. To do nothing but watch as the girl who did everything for him address how lowly Ben treated her.

"Ben, you already know what happened. You can go and skip this part until it's over," Belle suggested, rubbing her son's back as she watched the sorrow deepen in his eyes.

The Queen didn't want to watch her son grieve. She didn't want any of this to happen. But if she felt anything, it was the shame of her actions.

She was known for changing Adam into a better man, thus breaking his curse in the process. She thought she had been good at seeing beneath other's appearances. But yet, here lies Princess Audrey, who she didn't like and felt unworthy of her royal status, and all she did was love her son and suffer for it. She saw some spoiled girl who just wanted Ben for the title of being Queen and didn't even try to see the real person underneath the persona the Queen herself had made for her.

Audrey never deserved the backlash she would sprout to her husband in closed quarters. She gave so much of herself to Ben, should there even be a question to who the real Audrey is after all?

Anyone who was wronged in such a way, but still apologize and continue to protect the person who did her the most injustice, regardless of if said person was deserving of it or not, had her respect and she would do her damned best to show her gratitude.

* * *

Audrey needed to get it together! So she follows her Dad's advice: Use fear to drive you.

"When he proclaimed his love to Maleficient's daughter and asked her to be his girlfriend, the first thing I decided was that I would rather be cursed to sleep for a hundred years than live through this nightmare," Audrey admitted, feeling her eyes swell with tears. "I can't...I couldn't deal with it so I ran off that field and b-burst into tears in an empty locker room. I don't know if any of you could personally understand this, but I felt my heart shatter and the only thing running through my head that wasn't magic-induced was a loss. The loss of losing my First Defender. I had endured so much for him and he hurt me. He hurt me and- and broke me and I felt like I couldn't breathe. I wanted to die!"

Her voice hitched, her breathing quickened and tears were falling out of her eyes, and the very thing Audrey was trying to avoid was happening: The heartbroken girl was coming out.

"I could hear the crowd cheering from the field and I didn't know how to go back there. But one of the players saw me run and followed me. He gave me the idea for damage control and suggested I get with him to make it seem like we had mutually broken up and hadn't announced it yet. It seemed like a solid plan, a ray to save a bruised ego. So I quickly wiped my tears, grabbed his hand and rushed out to the field where I declared I was with someone else: Prince Chad. I know the present scandal about him that's come to light, and while I will not make any comment, I will say it was all for show and nothing happened between us. He just helped me save face."

Thankful that the hardest part was over, she wiped her face with a tissue and regained composture.

"Now, I'll skip ahead again to Family Day, where the parents of the students come to visit once a month. Basically, after crying my tears out to my family over the phone, I was more than grateful to see them that day for a show of support. But I'm also going to admit that what was said about my Grandmother on the news was true. Yes, she did yell at Mal and believe she was just like her mother. But I want everyone to understand it was more out of grief than rage. Be human and forsake royal titles for a moment and consider what that was like for her. She lost her only daughter for sixteen years, then fell under the curse she was under and had to get to know the stranger that was her child all over. Things she would have known for years were now new information. She lost birthdays and holidays and moments she could never get back! An entire childhood! That's the pain only a few royal queens, one's whose children had been raised away from them, or even stolen, can sympathize with. And if they had to meet the person who brought them that pain, or in this case, the daughter who did nothing but be born from them, I can only imagine something similar might have happened.

But while she's not proud of it, I was no better with my treatment when I didn't stop her from saying they deserve to be in the Isle. When other students had ganged up and turned on them. It was too late when I realized I had strayed from the true purpose of them being here. They came here for a better life and we acted no better than what a true villain would be like. For the first time, we became the portrayed villains and they were our victims. And if that day had **any** effect of the fallout that happened at Prince Ben's coronation, then we are as much to be blamed for them choosing to be evil. I am to be blamed for it, and even if they hadn't turned, an apology wouldn't cut it."

* * *

The crowd and anyone watching the live feed was stunned at the princess's admission.

While she wasn't directly accusing the people, she was acknowledging the wrong that was done, even sympathizing the with villains' kids and their actions! Princess Audrey was laying herself bare in front of Auradon, her feelings, her pain, her secrets, and her regrets of how she believed certain things would have gone down without the cruel actions of disillusions and pettiness.

It left the people stunned and questioning why she was doing what she was doing. This was more than just her side of the story.

It was a confession.

* * *

"I would talk about the coronation, but let's be honest with ourselves: We all saw what happened next!" she jested. A few laughs in the gathering broken the silent tensions that intensified earlier on.

"But then, soon afterward, I was at home one morning when I looked at the newspapers and saw Prince Ben's name being slandered. I hated it! I hated and felt the injustice of how something so horrible could fall back on him! He was innocent! He had no way of knowing that he was being betrayed by the kids he was helping, kids our age who had nothing that we had, and the possible threat of him losing the throne. But I was reminded to separate my feelings from duty and was able to see why this was being said about him. People had lost faith in him, his ability to keep his word, and everything he'd built since his election was falling on him. A fall from grace in its purest form. But it wasn't for me.

While I told you all that losing him hurt, I just had to realize I only lost an intimate side of him. He wasn't gone. I still believe that Prince Ben won that election fair and square, and not just because I helped him. Every time he spoke, the people fell in love with him because they saw what I've seen since I was a child! I never claimed he was perfect, only Just and Fair. I don't blame anyone skeptical in believing Ben has what it takes to lead Auradon. He had this **brilliant** idea to fix what he saw as unjust and it would have worked if people had seen past their pain and prejudice to be open-minded and understand that just because **_one generation_** made the choices they made, doesn't mean the next has too! I'm the daughter of a great queen, but I'm capable of being bad! Good and Evil are two sides of the same coin and only we can choose what side we're on. Nobody is completely good or bad, but we have that choice to choose. All that's needed is a chance.

That's what Prince Ben had taught me, and what I had to learn on my own. So even after everything that's happened, I will still choose to stand and protect Ben's ideals! I'll always strive to protect him. I'll always love him. So, I'm asking you, the people of Auradon to see the real king you chose. He's not, and may never be perfect, but he will do all he can to stand by you and protect you. And you've got to give him an equal footing, a chance to redeem himself in your eyes. His parents' story is about redemption, and almost all fairytales are about righting a wrong if you just look! If I'm willing to, then so can you.

So thank you for listening today," Audrey concluded, leaving the entire cathedral in silence.

* * *

Nobody knew what to expect.

Nobody knew what to say or do...

Except one.

CLAP!

CLAP!

CLAP!

King Philip stood up from his seat, standing broad, and clapped his hands, his eyes beaming in pure pride.

CLAP!

CLAP!

Queen Aurora and Leah joined in.

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

And another...

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

And another...

more people started standing up and clapping

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!

Soon, the room was bursting in a standing ovation! Many were moved to tears and others were downright a sobbing mess, particularly Snow White herself!

Cameras were flashing lights a minute per second and camera crew was more than capturing enough footage that would send ANN reeling for the next few weeks, or months, depending on how popular it becomes!

And Audrey just stood at that podium, abask in lights and staring at disbelief at how many people loved her conference, and she hadn't yet to call for questions yet! She didn't realize she had made such an impact, never really planned on it.

All she just hoped was that she saved the faces of her family and Ben's reputation.


	6. The Other Side

**I didn't know how to continue this, so I decided to do something long-awaited: the VKs.**

**ENJOY!**

* * *

**_In an undisclosed location in Auradon..._**

**3rd POV**

In the deep dark forest, there lied a hidden, 10ft high gated cottage. It was well kept and quaint, led from the front gate up to the small front porch by a rocky trail. Despite it having barely on an acre of land, with the house spruced up in white and blue, a beautiful garden filled various beautiful daisies and roses boasting in appearance, and a pond in the backyard, the home itself carried enough charm and dignity of something out of a Modern Fairy Tale. It wouldn't be hard to imagine that a pair of Love Birds lived in this storybook-home.

However, the woodsy cottage wasn't as charming and warm on the inside as it seemed on the outside.

Unnoticed from the inside, the entire plot of land was heavily covered in a blue barrier similar to that of the Isle of the Lost, stopping any magic from flowing in or out of the surrounding area. But unlike the Isle, this specific barrier used a special charm: To identify and ensure that the four certain teens trapped inside this idyllic never escaped.

Inside the cottage held a rustic interior of pillows, weathered and painted woods and materiel, carpets and curtains that wore earthy tone and the vintage furniture that held an immediate desire to feel comfortable. But the only children of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar, and Cruella De Vil were in no desire to feel that way as they watched the media spectacle on national television.

After the aftermath of Ben's coronation, the teens had been dispatched to a small detention center in Auradon City (because they do have crime but it's at a 2% all-time low) before moving them to this small cottage in the woods, which was a wedding present from one of the royals. Adam was all for shipping back to the Isle where they belong, but Ben still had enough authority to keep them her. His logic was that if they were going to be villains and endanger hundreds of civilian lives, then instead of exiling them back to their home, where they're more likely to run wild as they'd had before, they would be prisoners in Auradon for an unforeseeable amount of time.

And the same could be said about their upcoming trial dates.

All the appliances were charmed so they could not break, spells to ensure the cottage wouldn't catch on fire, the food in the cabinets and refrigerator were magically restocked to the basic food groups, ensured charms on the pool so no one would accidentally drown, limited what they could watch on TV from ANN to educational channels (Evie was the least phased by this). But otherwise, they lived and did their chores.

As the Auradon News reveled in the aftermath of the "**_Princess Audrey Tell-All Inclusive_**", Jay and Carlos looked bored, Evie looked on in keen interest, and a particular look of scorn and distaste filled a certain fairy's face as she watched Princess Audrey through the screen, smiling as she started taking questions from the crowd.

Mal cursed this! She had plans! Carefully laid out with Evie's castle-schooling to make up where she lacks to keep up with society and royal court! Face everything with becoming Ben's girlfriend would entitle her too and keep on the pretense to be just as infatuated with him as he'd become for her, all for the sake of ruling Auradon!

Screw her mother's limitedly vengeful plan! The playing the long game was the most surely effective way to get any real power. But that was lost to her now. All because of that stupid wand!

And now here comes _Princess Audrey_, whose been nothing but a pain in the neck since she and the others arrived, having a full-blown press conference and slandering her name like she was nothing more than conman on the Isle!

And all this started because some stupid fairy said she felt sorry for the princess who warned them and they didn't listen! And while Mal had smirked in glee when Audrey had seemed to be an unnecessary issue put to rest, triumphantly alienating anyone away from her side...

THIS HAPPENS!

Growling, she picked up a pillow and threw it at the TV, leaving nonexistent damage to the device.

"Growling and throwing pillows won't help you, Mal," Evie voiced, her eyes glued to the screen. She had to admit she was intrigued when it was announced that Princess of Auroria would be speaking, and she can't say she wasn't surprised about the results. Turns out there was more to the girl than Evie gave her credit for.

In agitation, the purple fairy got up and stood in front of the screen, hand on her hip and green eyes ablaze!

"Are you kidding me! How can you watch this!?" Mal screeched. "You can't seriously believe a word that spoiled...PINKAHALLIC is spewing out of her mouth! "_Magic sensitivity_"? '"_Ben is my First Defender_"'? '"_I wanted to die_"'...Oh, give me a break! I had him! I was **this **close to getting closer to the throne and that stupid wand made me spill everything!"

At this, Evie got annoyed and stood up in her face.

"Well, what did you expect? I told you to let me do the spell! Unlike you, I have contingency plans in order! I mean, you knew he had a girlfriend-"

"If he had enough self-awareness to know he had a game, he had enough to break it off-" Mal interjected.

"-who was infatuated with him in the first place!" Evie scolded, her brown eyes darkening. "But it's so _typical_ of you to leave screw looses lying around that you don't even care how badly this could have ended! You two are mortal enemies between your families. Did you think you could just snatch Ben away, work your way up the throne, and think she'd just take that lying down?"

The mere thought of her _friend_ believing the same intimidation tactics on the Isle would work here was completely ridiculous! So much that Evie started to laugh, and laugh, and laugh until her stomach ached! Gods, the Daughter of Maleficient was so foolish!

"Stop laughing at me!" Mal yelled as the Evil Princess wailed in hysterics.

Jay shook his head, unamused at the sight before him. "It's no use. Once she gets started, she stops when she'll pass out. And if you listened to us, you'd know she has respect for Audrey."

Mal snorted. "I doubt that. One of the first words that the princess said to her was that she held no royal status in Auradon. Seriously! Where's the respect in that!"

By then, Evie had luckily recovered enough from her laughing fits to answer this.

"Hahahaha! That-haha-that's-haha-the whole point is that!" Evie smirked through her small fits. "It may have seen catty to you all, but it was true! Honestly though, despite that, I still carried myself as so, most likely appearing as a rival, which would have made more sense if I had been the one to give Ben the cookie! Hahaha! Anyways, it started when she was bold enough to call that out, and also name drop your mother in the process, but then Audrey was the only one who knew we were up to no good. After you and Ben humiliated her at the game, she saved face in the last minute and torn down the trust you gained at Family Day by turning students against us. And say if you hadn't exposed us, she'd still be a rank above you until Ben made you his Queen. That's a lot of time to get more evidence of our treachery! And all because of the only person in Auradon that sees completely through you! She would have been our biggest obstacle and she played the game well. Should've been more careful!"

After this, Evie started a maniacal laugh, sounding eerily like her mother, that was executed like a true Daughter of the Evil Queen.

"Oh-hahaha-Oh! And it would be safe to mention that by ruin our plans, you ruined Ben's!" Evie added quickly. "Who is facing scrutiny for being spelled and not coming forward, letting you get away with it, and taking the full blame for everything at the coronation! HAHAHAHA! Nobody's going to touch him now, not with that stigma on him! HAHAHA! You dragged Ben down with you and ruined his chances at being King!"

Creeped out, Carlos turned to Jay. "Funny, you're one to talk. You flirted with her from the moment you set eyes on her. Why?"

Jay shrugged. "Because she's hot! How often would someone like me get a chance at getting inside the pants of a princess!? Kind of wished I got to her before Chad did. Oh well, as my Dad would rarely say: '"Fortune favors the bold."' Besides, she never messed with you."

"That's because it was the whole point! Nobody suspected me! I'm the youngest and don't draw attention to myself. That, and because I largely don't understand girls or their feelings, except for Evie and Mal, who are like opened pages in comic books. They're a little dirty, but still clear to understand," Carlos said, "but can't say I'm completely surprised she has magic sensitivity. We lived on an island with our true powers repressed every day until we came here. So, is it that hard to believe Audrey could have developed something from her mother after she took on all that heavy magic from Maleficient's original curse, a **_DEATH_ **curse, which was then altered into a Sleeping Curse by Fairy Merryweather? If Audrey came out completely normal, something would be wrong. That or she's adopted."

Jay muttered a "True," and watched as Mal looked like she was about the blow a fuse!

Between Evie's wild laughter, Jay's crude comment ad Carlos's unexpected logic, all this talk did nothing but piss Mal off, resulting in her going into a screaming rage and throwing anything within throwing distance across the room in a fit. She lost everything.

Her chances at ruling Auradon was gone, her mother was a useless lizard nowhere in sight, she's trapped in this cookie-cutter cottage white the idiots she calls _friends_, her name was being slandered - degraded to being her mother's daughter, and her magic is **_GONE!_**

Mal would make Auradon regret the day they crossed her! She would burn it **_ALL_ **down to the ashes where there would be nothing left but smoke, dust, and rubble. She would wreak destruction where she could have ruled and no one can stop her!

Turning back to the TV to see Audrey still speaking, looking so dainty and frail in front of a live audience while gracing a perfect smile in a pretty pink dress that made her sick.

Well, only one.

Destroying Auradon seemed like the perfect goal. If she couldn't rule it, shed unleash hell upon it. And where better than to start with the one noble everyone's dying to get a piece of...

* * *

_**Isle of the Lost...**_

_**Ursula's Fish and Chips...**_

"HEY! I ORDERED CRAB SLAB WITH A SIDE OF SCUM! WHERE IS IT!?"

"UMA! YOU GOT A HOT ONE READY FOR TABLE 5! GET KRAKEN!"

"I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR AGES FOR MY SIDE ORDER OF SPLEEN!"

"OI, I SWEAR ON MY MOTHER'S FORMERLY PIERCED HEART, EVERYBODY SHUT UP!" Uma screamed throughout the noisy eatery, rendering the entire place into complete silence.

Blowing out a huff of air, Uma let out an exhausted groan as she continued to pick up the half-eaten dishes from the tables of her mother's restaurant before the crowded place picked up again.

Saying she was annoyed was an understatement!

Months ago, Prince Ben proclaimed that 4 kids of the Isle would get to come over to Auradon as some sort of twisted exchange program.

Cool right? Well, not for Uma as she had to watch that SnootyLittleWitch, Mal, and her friends not only get chosen to go over there but watch as Ben made no more promises that anyone else could come over yet. Anyone would think they'd probably get enough ideas of their homelife over here that aid would be swiftly coming in!

She gets it. It's an experimental project and all, which Uma hates but gets, but once that Poser crossed that bridge, it was like there was no way they would ever come back!

And if she thought **that** made her mad, then it was a _**WHOLE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT BUCKET OF UGLY**_ when she watched Prince Ben's entire coronation go down! They were sent over there to let Maleficent out! Mal spelled Ben with a Love Spell! Mal and the others were plotting to _TAKE OVER AURADON_! WHAT THE HELL!?

Uma was so, extremely livid that her she cursed out everybody and everything in the restaurant, running all the costumers away in a ranging fit, screaming and throwing dishes, forks, plates shattering everywhere that Ursua had to come in herself and discipline the girl to calm down. And one does NOT take being _disciplined_ by Ursula kindly! **Especially with her tentacles involved!**

Now, thanks to Mal and her so-called crew, there was no way anyone was going to come to the Isle's rescue. Which means no aid, they were still stuck with eaten garbage, and what's worse is that now with Maleficent getting lose, the barrages that come in and out with "supplies" (leftovers and trash from the mainland), would be on higher alerts and with sanctions as punishment, as if the whole island should be punished for that of a few!

She hated it. She hated the Isle, she hated the rotten food, the scraps of clothing, lack of necessities, and most of all, she hated Mal! She ruined everything!

Stewing in her darker thoughts, she was about to walk past the vintage TV when the news conference came on. The look of Princess Audrey made Uma wanna punch her face in annoyance yet feel some sympathy for a girl.

She had heard most of the conference while she was working and made out some parts that were too low to hear (damn lousy satellite!) and had mixed feelings about the girl.

Firstly, it's so stupid to believe that some spoiled princess, or anyone, would wanna change anything about them just to be with a guy. And then bullied others to lower their standards so they could be on top? But then again, the Isle was mostly gang activity and Maleficent used fear to rule, so what did she know?

However, she got screwed over by Mal in a hostile takeover and watched as the Little Traitor stole her life from underneath her, losing almost everything! Uma could feel for anyone who suffered under Mal's underhanded tricks, especially if they knew she was a fake from the moment they meet her!

But when the coronation happened and some fairy spilled about how she knew the girl was warning everyone and nobody believed her, leaving her alone to preferring Mal instead, Uma figured either the princess or the prince had to speak up first. But she was surprised to get radio silence from Ben and the girl who spoke out.

And by spoke out, she meant that Princess Audrey completely spilled her guts out! She spilled her entire life story from her birth to meeting Ben, then revealing what seemed to be a sensitive family secret, and then playing out everything that's happened since Mal arrived from her point of view. And the idea that her presence and magic literally made the girl sick made Uma unsure whether to smile or be worried that Mal's toxicity had that level of effect.

And then came the part where she called out everyone, including herself, for throwing kids under the bus for what their parents had done and apologized for the way she acted, magic-sensory involved or not. Now Uma knew her mother was no saint, but heroes taking responsibility and apologizing for their actions when they know they were wrong...

That was a new one. A hero apologizing to a villain, especially when it's revealed they don't deserve it? She didn't know what was in the water over there, but this princess was unquestionably in a league of her own.

But the thing Uma found ironic was the timing. Auradon's in unrest to see if they'll need a new king and they're focusing on _her_. See the Daughter of Ursula wasn't stupid. The princess was opening a can of worms that even she knew would have the paparazzi on her back for a while and even royals had to get tired of them! So why would she garner all this attention, unless...

Was she trying to shift the focus off of Prince Ben? And if so, why? Love or not, after everything he put her through, she didn't owe him anything!

Just as she was thinking this, the news shifted to the part where Audrey started taking questions.

* * *

**"Princess Audrey, do you still intend on attending Auradon Prep next week?"**

**"Have your personal feelings for Prince Ben led you to speak out on your own or were you forced?"**

**"Is it true Auroria plans to secede from Auradon?"**

**"Princess Audrey, what future do you see for Prince Ben taking the throne?"**

**"Audrey, what thoughts do you have on Prince Ben continuing the Lost Isle Initiative?**

Uma rolled her eyes at the last one. Replace "Isle" with "Kids" or "Boys" and it's one-off from being more of a reference to Neverland than to the Isle. Was that what they were calling it or was this just thrown out there in the wind, hoping to catch on?

_Audrey raised her hand as a calming gesture to calm the anxious crowd down before speaking up into the microphone._

_"One at a time please and raise your hand to have your questions answered," Audrey stated politely. About a dozen or more hands shot up and she quickly picked one from the crowd._

_"You, sir?" she called out._

_Getting up nervously, she spoke into a microphone that was being passed down._

**"Um, Princess Audrey, were you coerced to speak up or was this of your own volition?"**_ he asked._

_Audrey nodded before speaking up. "I requested to do this, through my father, of course, since he's an honorary council member. I can see why anyone would think I was asked to speak, but believe me, I knew what I was asking for. Next...Ah, yes! You there, in the back."_

_Another man stood up and took the mike. _**"What are your plans after this? Is it true that Auroria will be withdrawing from the United States of Auradon?"**

_"No," Audrey answered, "while the thoughts had passed, they were just that: Thoughts. Thoughts, I'll admit, that was considered from a king being overprotective of his only daughter. Not the first time, but certainly won't be the last!"_

_Audrey let out a laughed that was luckily well received by the audience._

_"But regardless, Auroria is still a very well much a part of Auradon and I __very much__ hope to see its future reside there for as long as it reigns. And...Yes!"_

_This time, a young woman stood up from the crowd. _**"Because of your personal feeling regarding your classmates and, of course, the Prince himself, will you continue to be attending Auradon Prep?"**

_Audrey nodded in affirmation. "Yes, I will still be attending. Auradon Prep, despite my recent experience, is still dear to me enough that I see no other reason not to continue my attendance there. While I make no comments towards my classmates and future king, I will say that no conflicting personal interests shall bar me from resuming classes as usual?"_

_Another woman just beside the previous journalist stood up._**"Princess, you mentioned earlier about your sensitivity to magic and how it affects you and your moods. Do you see yourself as disabled?"**

_Audrey shook her head. __"Not exactly. Over the years, those in the know, __such __as __doctors, had diagnosed it more as a disorder than a disability. It's just that with my case, my reactions tend to be more obvious for those who knew about me. But for those unaware, I can see how they would recept me in a negative light."_

**"And will you tend to fix**** that? Work on your disorder and relationships, I mean?" **_the same woman asked._

_"For the first one, I desire too. I realize now that I put myself and my mental health at risk. I'm going to be around magic one way or another, so instead of shying away from it, I plan to ensure I can handle it__ better," Audrey responded,"__ And as for my relationships...__I'm willing enough to admit that I need some time to work on myself before I go diving onto burning bridges. My trust in those I called my friends are understandably shaken, but trust goes two ways, and I need to focus on my issues before I can try letting anyone else in."_

Uma gave the girl small praises in the back of her head. The girl was completely dropped on everyone's radar and left out in the cold. The princess is too smart enough to know she can't go back down that road. She'd be stupid enough to let that happen again. She had done the same after the "Shrimp Incident" and came back stronger than Mal left her.

**"If Prince Ben were to take the throne again, do you foresee him continuing to bring more children from the Isle? After everything that's happened? Do you disagree if he did?"**

Uma watched as the unexpected (or expected) question hit her. This was the big one, coming from the girl almost lost her mind because of her ex's choices. She's interested in hearing this one. Uma could practically feel the anxiety sweating off her.

"_I-I..._" _Audry faltered, before taking a breath and continuing._ _"I fully support him if he does."_

And this was the part where the press goes wild.

Princess Audrey was barely able to get a word in before the crowd jumped on her like the alligators snapping at each other in pit fights Uma would watch with her mother near Captain Hook's Inlet! She watched as the pink princess was ushered off the stage and out of view right before the screen went into commercial.

Uma had to take a minute and sit down to process what just happened.

First, a princess practically saved Prince Ben's behind, causing all the media outlets to flock to her, just so he can save face and **_maybe_**, be crowned king.

Secondly, she apologized for the behavior of her, her family, and other royals who got their panties in a twist with Mal and her crew and acknowledged that kids coming from the isle was a good idea.

And thirdly, not long after the second one, she openly admitted to letting _more_ come over, even with higher security risks now that the people of Auradon are actually aware that some kids never really lose their touch of villainy!?

These concepts were hard enough for the turquoise-haired girl to wrap her head around, and she's been stunned like this before - with her mother's tentacle. Uma didn't want to believe it. It was just too good to be true!

Could there be hope for the Isle from the one person that has more reasons to hate them the most?


	7. The Damages

**Alright, sorry for the late update. Surprised people are reading this, so thanks!**

**I'm not gonna lie: I had trouble with how I was gonna start this next chapter but with Halloween coming (and going) Sarah Jeffery's Queen of Mean remix, What's My Name/Queen of Mean remix and now Audrey's Chrismas Rewind going through my head, I can move forward now.**

* * *

**_After the program..._**

**3rd POV**

As soon as Audrey was ushered into a dressing room away from the platform, she was immediately embraced by her mother with her dad and grandmother standing beside her.

"Oh, I. Am. So. Proud of you!" Aurora exclaimed, squeezing her daughter tightly and was returned. "See, I told you it was all better if you just spoke from the heart!"

King Philip beamed down at her, giving her daughter the most pleasing smile he could muster since she was born. "You did so well out there, Audrey. I couldn't be any prouder."

Former Queen Leah scoffed. "From the heart or not, every living individual that was watching will be talking about this for ages. Not to mention the request for more private interviews we were getting being rushed back here."

The king and queen rolled their eyes inwardly as the matriarch of the family sighed and sat down on a small couch that resided in the room. " Now that we got this fiasco out of the way, we can conduct official business. So, let's make a list of things to do and get our stories straight. First, you're still going to Auradon Prep. It's out of the discussion and you already said so during questions, so that's out of the way. Secondly, you will be accepting no more interviews after this. Too soon and we don't need the paparazzi believing we're trying to covet Auradon's throne. And last but not least, we need to do shopping since you were _so determined_ to get rid of more than half of your wardrobe."

At this, Audrey couldn't help but laugh. As of right now, she lacked school clothes due to getting rid of almost everything in her closet and needed new clothes quick. She had been depressed and between deciding how she was going to face the world, the princess decided a new change of style was needed. Her last one preceded with her spoilt reputation, and she was ready to acknowledge that, as of now, was in tatters.

She needed something new, in control, and, as much as she hated to admit it, the VKs gave her new inspiration for a new look...though she respectively gives credit to Evie more than Mal! Official royal or not, that one gave her the least headaches of the two!

But the one she decided won't change was her colors, with Ben or not, blue was just as much of her color with pink. She just needed to upgrade past her pastel and preppy- _well, preppy enough _attire. Something special to finish off her Sophmore year-

And then she remembered something:

"We can't forget the planning for my Sweet 16! Grandpa Huberto wanted me to have a special birthday when I turned 15, but that never happened," Audrey inquired.

It was completely discovered by accident a few months after her paternal grandfather passed away. After his father's death, King Philip had been going through his things, as he hadn't had time to go over since the reading of testament when he came across what an old diary of his. He was astounded to learn of his father's past - and his family ancestry from another country - and even more when he came across a certain event that was always held for the women in his family, seemingly ending with Philip being his only son and heir.

At least until Audrey was born.

Bring his family alongside him into his family's royal archives, it was more defined in detail. It was an age-old tradition signaling a young girl's transition from a child to a woman. It was called...

"Your Quincenera?" Philip asked, bringing Audrey out of her memory. Well, after translating it from Spanish, it was more of a Sweet 15. But the discovery was made before after both her grandfather's death and her actual 15th birthday. So it was more of a "_decimosexto cumpleaños_" or Hispanic Sweet Sixteen, making up for her last one and honoring an almost forgotten cultural event grandfather.

There was more to the tradition and what it entails, and she hadn't been able to fill Ben in earlier in the year because of his _rite of passage _entailed, and then...

Everything else happened.

Audrey didn't even want to think of how her best-laid plans were in the wind.

Seeing the exasperated look on her face, Aurora jumped into the fray. "Alright, why don't we just head home and do the shopping for another time? Audi has two more days left before school starts. I believe she can fill up half her closet before the day arrives. And you still have time to plan your party. Gods know you probably spent more time planning it than anyone we'd pay to do the job."

Philip snorted almost un-royal-like. He remembers all the side jobs Audrey was doing for Ben's campaign and what she said about doing more than what the people hired got done was more than true. She was praised and even told that if she wanted to become a campaign manager, she'd be delighted to train!

Giving both her husband and mother a look, she called in the royal bodyguards to escort her family safely to the back of the cathedral, where a limo was waiting for them, making it the almost perfect escape.

* * *

_**At Beast Castle...**_

Once the staff left the common room, leaving the royal family to stare at the television, King Adam hastily got up and started planning.

"Well, I think this cause for a form of celebration, don't you think? The princess just saved us a lot of time, and while we'll have to try to gain back Philip's favor - no doubt he'll make it easy - we can start scheduling and planning your own conference-" he started.

"Adam, don't you think you're starting a bit too soon?" Belle worried. King Adam gave an indignant snort.

"How soon is too soon!? Did you not see what I saw!" he gestured manically to the TV. "The press is eating this up. Like-like when Gaston got those villagers riled up to kill me!"

"That's not a good reference, Dad."

"Quiet, young man!" the king scolded. "You have the remainder of the school year to get back into Princess Audrey's good graces. While there's no doubt she'll get some of her own backlash for her own actions, she basically took a sword for you and you better do more than your best to repay that! She gave you an out and in the meanwhile, you best get ready because you will have only a matter of time before you have to go up against the council and, in between then, fix the mess you made, if you still want to be King. As of now, a now reluctant ally has us at their mercy and the whole country will be watching."

Belle stood up and placed a hand on her husband's shoulder. "I'm sure I can get an audience soon with Audrey and her mother. I and her mother go back and-"

"And she probably regards you, in the same way, Philip regards Ben. That woman was blessed to be kind, not stupid. Besides, almost all the royals understood the disdain you held for her daughter."

This caused Ben to snap his head up in confusion. What is his father talking about? "And what is that supposed to mean?"

Adam looked at his son. "Let's just state that you kids weren't the only ones to misjudge Audrey, son. And besides, you want to get to the crown princess and Queen of Auroria, you have to go through Queen Mother Leah. For all their due, Leah basically raised Audrey behind closed doors, especially when the girl's parents took over their thrones and didn't have time for her. Despite her careless choices, Audrey has had one of the more stricter princess training. So any type of apologies being sent their way will be seen as half-assed until proven otherwise."

Ben stood up to his father. "You seem awfully knowledgeable about her family."

"I had to be. Everyone in this family has a role and so far, I seem to be the only one not guilty of failing that. I make it my business to know the type of upbringing the royal children have since they'll be taking their parents' places. You have the responsibility of befriending those children and slowly molding them to where they seem fit as your allies. And you," he looked at Belle, "have the job of keeping the friendship of the other queens and diplomacy if I'm not able to. We all have roles to play that this country depends on. It's about time we act like it."

And with that, Adam stormed out of the room, leaving both mother and son alone. Leaving Ben the burning question he hoped wasn't true.

"Mom," he started.

"Ben, please..." Belle trailed, her gaze avoiding him.

Ben took a deep breath, trying to suppress the spouts of anger threatening to emerge. "Please what, Mom? Please don't ask if you hated my now ex-girlfriend while we were dating. Please don't ask why you left me oblivious to that? Or please tell me that I'm not the only one in this family that'll be groveling to Audrey at this point!"

"Look, sweetie, I don't have a lot of room to share and yes, your father is right. Behind closed doors, I wasn't Audrey's biggest fan. Yes, you both had were cut from the same cloth as royal children, but you two were so vastly different. You were humble while she was spoiled. You spent more time learning while I thought she spent more time gossiping. I saw you as the closest thing to Good, where all I saw was a spoilt, mean girl who wasn't anywhere near ready for any throne. At some point, I was willing to say I wanted better for you and better was anyone who wasn't Audrey."

Dropping her head in her hands, she plopped down on the couch. "And honestly, I wanted to believe Mal was the better choice. She was nowhere near anything like Audrey and maybe, I was hoping that you're fairytale was like mine. That you'd come to love someone different from everyone else. Now, look at what happened? I almost got my wish, but it would have broken you more than I thought Audrey would have done! She would have used you and left you high and dry and even _**I**_ fell for that! I'm most famous for seeing behind someone's looks and first impressions and yet, I read two girls so wrong that this happened. So your father isn't wrong. I have no doubt Audrey knew how I really felt about her and if the women in her family have it their way, I'd be excluded from any event and be shunned. They'd never let me anywhere near her if they felt I was only groveling."

Ben just ran his hands through his hair and sat beside the queen of Auradon. He didn't want to believe this. It was bad enough he hurt Audrey, practically shattering her heart, but he broke her faith and trust in him. For Olympus' sake, he didn't even consider how emotional stability and just expected her to fall in line with his plans, something she did despite her better judgment! And now his mother is sitting here, basically telling him she hated her and now needs to find a way back in another royal family's graces, especially if they knew her true feelings.

_Dear Gods of Olympus was his family screwed_.

* * *

**First off, since Sarah Jeffery has a confirmed Hispanic heritage (and in the movies, Prince Philip looks Hispanic), Huberto was the Spanish form of Hurbert, which was his name in Sleeping Beauty. And did you know, that in technicality, Audrey is also French since her mother's fairy tale started in France?**

**Secondly, for my Hispanic readers, I'm doing my best research to hopefully not make this look bad and be respectful. **

**And lastly, w****hat are your feelings for Audrey having a Quinceanera?**


	8. Fresh Appearance

**I'm back...and with some idea of how this story will go!**

**So, I realized that I used "Hispanic" in my last chapter and had me wonder if the Descendant's Universe had names for ethnic and nationality groups. So...I'm just going to wing it and make it seem to lie Audrey's paternal family hails from a country called _Hispania_ before migrating to what would be Auradon...May do similar things for other characters...DON'T JUDGE ME!**

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**_Auradon Prep..._**

**3rd POV**

The extended break is over and all of the students at Auradon Prep have already filled the campus, gossiping, meeting up, and for the vast majority, wondered:

What was going to happen next!?

The kingdom was still talking about the princess of Auroria's major interview, and while it had done its job on taking the focus of off Prince Ben, it also received backlash.

There were those amongst royalty that knew what Princess Audrey was doing and saw right through it. They still didn't want Ben to dare try regaining the throne.

Another group that reviewed to see the error in their ways and continued to support the Isle and no one leaving it. The VKs that had already come had proven their bias and won't be listening to anyone else soon.

And there was, of course, major hysteria amongst the younger class as to how a would-be king forgets his girlfriend's magic disorder!? (That one was mostly gossip amongst the girls, especially those who knew where Audrey's pain was coming from.)

King Adam and his royal family received most of the backlash after the interview. Most of them were about Ben's immaturity and ability to rule a country, his treatment of Audrey, and even threats that were taken for investigation. Ben forced himself to read every single hate letter he got, but it only made him more resolved to fix his mess and his relationship with Audrey.

The Aurorian royal family was bombarded with interview requests and hate mail for numerous reasons (which they saw coming) and sympathetic letters, mostly to Audrey and her plight, along with recommendations from doctors who wanted to help her manage her disorder.

Meanwhile, other parties were looking at new changes.

Fairy Godmother had charmed her mailbox to dispose of any hate mail sent to Jane before undergoing her magic lessons. Jane was afraid of being bullied again at school but was more anxious about how she'd approach Audrey and apologize.

Lonnie was all the more prepared to be Jane's bodyguard and help her face the princess. She was also advised by her parents and Lil' Zhang to give Audrey some space beforehand since she's going through a lot.

And as for Chad Charming, it was rumored that he'd miss school spend the remaining semester in Cinderellasburg, where he'd be temporarily homeschooled all while working as a servant alongside the castle help! King Charming (whose first name is Henry) thought it was overkill for his soon to work as a servant, Queen Cinderella believed the best way to humble him was for him to start exactly where his mother was all those years ago.

So as the student population went abuzz with excitement for what's to come, nothing prepared them for what happened next.

Stopping at a clean halt in front of Beast Statue, a chauffeur quickly got out the limo and opened the door for one Princess Audrey. The air went still, but full of tension now seeing the princess since the interview. But when she stepped out, students and onlookers' jaws dropped while others took out their phones.

Stepping out the limo was Audrey Rose, forgoing her usual pastels, that was dress in a silk magenta blouse, dark, azure jeans with white at the bottom, brownish-pink Lita boots, and, surprisingly, a black leather blazer. On her neck was a necklace that appeared to look like roses surrounded by thorns. And the most eye-popping was her hair: Still, while her natural brown showed at the roots, her new hair dark rouge pink with light blue tips at the end, coming together so perfectly that sunny day, that it appeared as if a hair was a gentle, purple fire on her head.

It wasn't like Mal's or Evie's hair. She wasn't possessed by magic nor trying to copy the VKs. It was a darker, more regal twist than her usual style and more so, had a message:

**The Old Audrey was gone and she was _never_ coming back!**

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**Audrey's POV**

_CLICK!_

_CLICK!_

_CLICK!_

_CLICK!_

I focused on the clicking of my heals while I stood straight with my head up past the whispering crowd around me. I could understand that my new choice of wardrobe might bring too much attention, but I wanted it! I was no fan of all the sympathy letters I got, and I decided I needed a new look.

New look, new attitude. No pity! And a little hair dye won't kill me!

Now...if only my Grandmother could see that.

_**Flashback...**_

_Shortly after the interview, my dad split up with me, Mom, and Grandmother as we had paid off a few people to go to a secluded section of the mall in Auradon City that wasn't crowded and guarded with security._

_"Are you sure you want to shop here? There are more...desirable stores that could hold your attention," Grandmother muttered. I had to stop myself from rolling my eyes._

_This portion of the mall was a little less known because, surprise surprise: Auradon is known for their bright and vibrant colors, darker shades mostly to represent royalty!_

_These stores held more of an option for darker colors like gray, navy, deep red, black but don't get advertised much due to the fact they don't fit Auradon's image...until the VKs came and slowly, but surely, sales increased. But then the coronation happened, and any chance of getting publicity bombed and practically borderline became a pariah._

_The stores that almost made it lost a lot of business (and didn't have much, to begin with) started to fade into obscurity because they now showed the affiliation to the VKs and the Isle of the Lost._

_I only found out about these stores because of Opal, the great-granddaughter of Mama Odie, and Jordan, daughter of the Genie, told me so. Opal is the one who found the stores during a visit from Towering Heights and told Jordan, who let it slip and mentioned it to the VKs while I was in hearing vicinity during Family Day. Then, I had a daughter of one of the servants scope the place out and gave me directions, and...now we're here._

_"So...why are we here?" my mom asked._

_"Because I need a new look, and I need something that's not...me. Well, it is me, but bolder and stronger and none of my clothes have that. And I don't want the fairies involved because they'll just botch any attempt at trying to make me new clothes," I explained._

_"So...you want to dress like a child from the isle," Grandmother said distastefully._

_I turned my head towards her. "No...I want to change my colors! I can't be Princess Pastel Audrey anymore. I'm sick of it! And also, as much as I hate to admit it, some of Evie's fashion sense drew me in. Not much t befriend her at the time, but I saw the appeal. And these stores, they're going to be shut down if discovered, if we hadn't already, and all because it represents the VKs and not the establishments that were here long before those kids came from the isle! Hardly anyone wears dark color clothing anymore, except for those in maybe the Northern Wei, Camelot Heights, and Agrabah. And if you do see dark colors, it's more likely in winter! So, I'm not copying Evie or Mal, just claiming darker colors as my own..."_

_"And by doing so, you bring publicity to these businesses and ease away the stigma, keeping them on the market," mom theorized before looking t me proudly. "That's ingenious!"_

_"I say its a waste of time and effort," Grandmother grumbled. "Just changing your color palette won't fix anything norPrince Ben's problems!"_

_"No, but it will give him time!" I exclaimed. "Look, grandmother, I'm not stupid. For all I know, by midnight, reporters will turn my speech into a smear campaign against Ben, like they always do when something or someone goes wrong. But the country is focused on me now! And as long as I can hold their attention, Ben can focus on his reelection! Just trust me! I know what I'm doing!"_

_Grandmother __and __I held a staring test for what felt like a lifetime but was only a matter of minutes before she broke it off. I didn't like challenging her, but I needed her to be on board._

_"Fine! But just know I don't like it!" she stated._

_"I know. I understand. But I'm still doing this!" I stated. And with that, I walked away and headed into the nearest store, which to my surprise, **Through the Looking-Glass.**_

_**Flashback ends...**_

Imagine my surprise to see the Cheshire Cat was the one running the store, or at least a front of a store, which in turn wasn't a store but space with only a long, golden grand mirror hanging on the wall. He instructed us to step through it and next thing I knew, I was in Wonderland. He led me to the Mad Hatter who, au contraire to his name, is just into fashion in his realm as he is to making hats. He even made a bunch of dresses for Alice during her trips to Wonderland. When I told him what I wanted, he led me into his small boutique, and after me a serious of questions and taking my measurements, he told me the exact style he had in mind and would have them sent through my bedroom mirror that night (literally through the mirror). He even fashioned the rose thorn necklace from the stems of the Queen of Hearts' rose garden, using tiny traces of magic to dull them so I could wear it comfortably (andI did feel a bit high-spirited with static tingles when I first put it on, though a slight migraine appeared later). And when he asked if I needed anything else...that's when I told him to change my hair.

And one can guess how Grandmother felt about that!

After that, and spending the afternoon calming her down, we discreetly returned to the castle and met up with Dad, who just took one look at my hair and shook his head. To anyone else, it was an expression of disapproval, but I saw a ghost of a smile on his lips and knew he liked it.

And with such, I decided to ride to school in style and become the center of attention this remaining year.

**_Phase 1: Take the attention off Ben: Complete._**

**_Phase 2: Deal with apologizes: Commence_**

Looking around at all the students staring at her, awe and dumbstricken gaze obvious and the flashing lights of cameras taking her pictures. Being the center of attention wasn't new to me, but before, I would have rather keep my head down and easily blend in with my classmates, unnoticed, for as long as I could.

Not going to happen now.

These people were the ones once who flocked to me because I was popular and with Ben. The same people who turned their backs on me, including the ones I thought, were my friends when they saw something better in the VKs. The same ones who bushed me off and ignored me and the pain I was going through just to be on the supposed winning side!

I don't trust them. I can't trust them...

But I have to accept their apologies and move on if my life is going anywhere.

So with that, lifting my head held high and strutted off into campus, I kept the whispers and gossips behind me as I headed to the school auditorium, where Fairy Godmother has a special announcement and speech on what to expect this year.

This should be interesting.

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**A/N I'm serious, she's not copying Mal. But I took some inspiration from Mal's D3 look and have Audrey wear it better, by being dark pink and blue! Still LOVE her Queen of Mean looks though!**


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